Rubella monitoring in pregnancy as a means for evaluating a possible reemergence of rubella.

OBJECTIVE: Although it is commonly accepted that rubella is well-controlled, a recent reemergence of both pertussis and measles might also predict a reemergence of rubella. This study was designed to estimate the current incidence of rubella exposure in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective, descriptive study, conducted in Houston, TX, at The Woman's Hospital of Texas. Women are typically screened for rubella immunity at the beginning of pregnancy. Rubella nonimmunity is defined as a titer less than 10 IU/mL in the US. Women who were non-immune early in pregnancy (<20 weeks) were recruited for this study and asked to be tested again for rubella immunity at the time of delivery. RESULTS: Of 298 women who were rubella nonimmune (IgG <10 IU/mL) early in pregnancy, 19 converted to immune status (IgG >40 IU/mL, defined as at least a 4-fold increase) at time of delivery, a rate of 6.38% (4.12% to 9.75%; 95% Wilson-Score confidence interval). For the 19 patients who converted to immune status at time of delivery, 8 patients had levels of 40-150 IU/mL, 6 patients had levels of 151-300 IU/mL, 2 patients had levels of 301-500 IU/mL, and 3 patients had levels >500 IU/mL. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy is a critical time to evaluate rubella exposure. This study estimated the current incidence of rubella exposure in pregnancy to be 6.38%.

Duration of intrapartum antibiotics for group B streptococcus on the diagnosis of clinical neonatal sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Infants born to mothers who are colonized with group B streptococcus (GBS) but received <4 hours of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) are at-risk for presenting later with sepsis. We assessed if <4 hours of maternal IAP for GBS are associated with an increased incidence of clinical neonatal sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of women-infant dyads undergoing IAP for GBS at ≥37-week gestation who presented in labor from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2007 was performed. Infants diagnosed with clinical sepsis by the duration of maternal IAP received (< or ≥4-hours duration) were determined. RESULTS: More infants whose mothers received <4 hours of IAP were diagnosed with clinical sepsis, 13 of 1,149 (1.1%) versus 15 of 3,633 (0.4%), P = .03. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that treatment with ≥4 hours of IAP reduced the risk of infants being diagnosed with clinical sepsis by 65%, adjusted relative risk 0.35, CI 0.16-0.79, and P = .01. CONCLUSION: The rate of neonatal clinical sepsis is increased in newborns of GBS colonized mothers who receive <4 hours compared to ≥4 hours of IAP.

Screening for group B streptococcus: a private hospital's experience.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of universal screening and administration of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent early-onset neonatal GBS sepsis at a private tertiary care hospital since issuance of the 2002 CDC guidelines for preventing perinatal GBS disease. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of women delivering between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004 at a private tertiary care hospital in Houston, Texas. The percentage of women screened, GBS positive women receiving intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, and infants developing early-onset GBS sepsis were determined. RESULTS: 2,108 women delivered 2,135 infants with 1,874 (89%) screened for GBS. Of those screened, 1,322 (71%) tested negative and 552 (29%) tested positive for GBS. In this analysis of 2,135 infants, 3 (0.94 cases/1,000 live births) were diagnosed with invasive GBS sepsis. CONCLUSION: High rates of screening of pregnant women for GBS colonization and use of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for GBS carriers can be achieved in a private tertiary care hospital setting. " SYNOPSIS: High screening rates for group B streptococcus in a private tertiary care hospital reduce the incidence of maternal and early onset neonatal GBS infection."

Improving influenza immunization in pregnant women and healthcare workers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of several strategies to increase influenza immunization in a multispecialty clinic. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective electronic database analysis of influenza vaccinations in a 6-year period at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston, Texas. METHODS: We evaluated immunization rates in pregnant women and healthcare workers during 6 influenza seasons (2003-2004 to 2008-2009) after implementing the following strategies for pregnant women: assessing baseline immunization rates for obstetric providers, followed by direct encouragement and behavior modeling; implementing standing orders for influenza vaccination in pregnancy; and offering vaccination training to obstetricians and nurses. Further strategies implemented for healthcare workers included the following: conducting an employee survey about influenza knowledge, providing employee education based on survey findings and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, making employee vaccines readily available and free of charge, designating immunization nurses to serve as clinical champions, monitoring and reporting the employee influenza vaccination rate, and recognizing the clinic with the highest employee vaccination rate. RESULTS: Influenza vaccination coverage rates in pregnant women increased from 2.5% at baseline to 37.4% in 2008-2009. Employee influenza vaccination coverage rates increased from 36.0% in 2003-2004 to 64.0% in 2008-2009. CONCLUSION: Low influenza vaccination rates in pregnant women and healthcare workers can be substantially improved using methods shown to be effective in other clinical settings.

Safety of influenza vaccination during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of influenza vaccine that is administered in the second or third trimester of gestation. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective electronic database search of 5 influenza seasons (July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2003) was performed at a large multispecialty clinic in Houston, Texas. Immunization rates were calculated, and outcomes of pregnancy were compared between a cohort of healthy women who received influenza vaccine and a control group of healthy unvaccinated women who were matched by age, month of delivery, and type of medical insurance. RESULTS: Among 7183 eligible mother-infant pairs, only 252 pregnant women (3.5%) received the influenza vaccine. Women with medical insurance were more likely to be vaccinated, although the rates for women with chronic underlying conditions were similar to those of healthy women, regardless of insurance status. The mean gestational age at the time of influenza vaccination was 26.1 weeks (range, 14-39 weeks). No serious adverse events occurred within 42 days of vaccination, and there was no difference between the groups in the outcomes of pregnancy (including cesarean delivery and premature delivery) and infant medical conditions from birth to 6 months of age. CONCLUSION: Influenza vaccine that was administered in the second or third trimester of gestation was safe in this study population.