Original Article Gynecol Obstet Invest 2003;56:225–230 DOI: 10.1159/000074825 Comparison between Different Types of Surveillance Samples for the Detection of GBS Colonization in Both Parturient Mothers and Their Infants Majeda S. Hammoud a,e Majed Al-Shemmari b Lukman Thalib c Noora Al-Sweih d Nabeel Rashwan e Lakshami V. Devarajan a,e Hassan Elsori f Departments of a Pediatrics, b Obstetrics and Gynecology, c Community Medicine (Biostatistics), and d Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, e Department of Neonatology, Maternity Hospital, and f Department of Pediatrics, Al-Adan Hospital, Kuwait, Kuwait Received: November 7, 2002 Accepted after revision: September 22, 2003 Published online: November 12, 2003 Dr. Majeda S. Hammoud, Kuwait University Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait PO Box 24923, Safat, 13110 (Kuwait) Tel. +965 5319486, Fax +965 5338940, E-Mail m.hammoud@hsc.kuniv.edu.kw ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel 0378–7346/03/0564–0225$19.50/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/goi This work was conducted at Maternity Hospital, Neonatal Depart- ment, Kuwait. Key Words Group B streptococcal colonization W Group B streptococcal infection W Parturient mothers W Neonates Abstract Objective: To find the optimum screening method in detecting group B streptococcal (GBS) colonization in both mother and infant, and to identify the risk factors that influence GBS colonization in the infants. Patients and Methods: 1,120 singleton pregnant women were evaluated for GBS colonization by combined lower vagi- nal-anorectal swabs (LVRS) and urine tests, while their infants were evaluated for colonization with skin, ear and gastric aspirate samples. Results: LVRS swabs were pos- itive in 14.2% of mothers while urine was positive in 7.6%. Among the infants skin, ear and gastric aspirate samples were positive in 7.0, 6.9 and 3.5%, respectively. Prolonged rupture of the membrane was the only signifi- cant factor associated with colonization in these infants (p ! 0.001). Conclusions: Lower vaginal-anorectal swab is an effective method in detecting colonization in moth- ers especially when combined with urine culture. Skin or ear swabs are equally effective in detecting colonization in neonates. GBS colonization rate in our parturient and neonatal population is comparable to that was reported from other countries. A well-developed screening pro- gram and appropriate management strategies for both GBS colonized mothers and infants are recommended. Copyright © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus) is one of the leading causes of perinatal infections [1]. It is a major cause of bacterial sepsis and its complications among newborn infants, account for approximately 30% of all neonatal infections [2, 3]. The source of infection in neonates is the colonized maternal birth canal and trans- mission occurs before or during the birth process [4]. Esti- mated group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization among pregnant women have been quantified to be in the range of 5–30% [5, 6].