Most obstetricians screen for group B strep at 35 to 37 weeks

(HealthDay)—Almost all obstetricians collect group B streptococcus screening samples, but practice patterns vary, according to research published in the August issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Rodney K. Edwards, M.D., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues mailed a survey to 546 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to examine attitudes and practice patterns related to group B streptococcal colonization.

The researchers found that 97 percent of the 206 respondents collected screening samples at 35 to 37 weeks' gestational age. The sites used to collect samples varied: 62 percent included lower vagina and rectum; 26 percent lower vagina and perianal skin, but not rectum; and 5 percent did not include perianal skin or rectum. For intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, first-line agents were penicillin, ampicillin, and cefazolin (71, 27, and 2 percent, respectively). Patients with a non-anaphylactic penicillin allergy received cefazolin, clindamycin, vancomycin, and erythromycin (51, 36, 8, and 5 percent, respectively). For patients undergoing labor induction starting with a cervical ripening agent, less than 40 percent and 15 percent gave the first dose before or at agent administration or when the patient reached active labor, respectively.

"Gaps in knowledge and reported practice related to the prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcus infections were similar to gaps in implementation of guidelines demonstrated in past studies," the authors write.

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