Using selective chromogenic plates to optimize isolation of group B Streptococcus in pregnant women


Submitted: 18 March 2014
Accepted: 18 March 2014
Published: 18 March 2014
Abstract Views: 1349
PDF: 731
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Group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains the leading cause of severe bacterial infections (sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia) in neonates. We compared the detection of GBS from recto-vaginal swabs on blood agar and two chromogenic media and evaluated their antibiotic susceptibility. A total of 1351 swabs were taken from pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation. Following enrichment in Todd Hewitt broth + nalidixic acid and colistin, the samples were plated on Columbia CNA agar (CNA), chromID Strepto B agar (STRB) and Granada Agar (GRAN), respectively. GBS were found in 22.4% of recto-vaginal swabs from pregnant women. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of GBS detection were 88%, 88%, 81% and 96% for CNA, 99%, 97%, 90% and 99% for STRB and 94%, 99%, 98% e 99% for GRAN; Cohen’s k index concordances for CNA, STREB and GRAN were 0.68, 0.92 and 0.96, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin, whereas resistances of erythromycin and clindamycin were 40% and 42%, respectively. To conclude, selective broth enrichment combined with chromogenic plates is recommended for GBS screening in pregnant women.

Mattei, R., Creti, R., & Nardone, M. (2014). Using selective chromogenic plates to optimize isolation of group B Streptococcus in pregnant women. Microbiologia Medica, 28(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/mm.2013.3270

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