Antibiotics are widely preferred for newborns at the time of delivery. However, a recently conducted study may prompt clinicians to tailor the use of antibiotics. According to this study by Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia, some babies born via uncomplicated caesarean delivery, without labour and membrane ruptures before delivery, do not need antibiotics.
Only newborns, who are at high risk of infection, should be administered antibiotics. The research has been published in Pediatrics.
Dr Dustin D. Flannery, the first author of this study, said that babies are often administered antibiotics to avoid the risk of Sepsis. Sepsis is a serious medical condition that causes swelling throughout the body. It can also cause organ failure. Early-onset sepsis is seen in the first week of life.
However, Dr Dustin said that according to their study antibiotics should be avoided in the case of infants born with low-risk delivery characteristics. According to him, such infants are most likely not to get infected at birth.
Newborns are at a high risk of Early Onset Sepsis because they are exposed to bacteria during the birthing process. It has been very difficult to depict beforehand which infants are going to be infected with Early Onset Sepsis. This led to more usage of antibiotics in the case of newborns.
For this study, term and preterm infants born between January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2014, were observed. These infants had blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture obtained within 72 hours after birth. The criteria for determining the low EOS risk included caesarean delivery and without labour or membrane rupture before delivery. No antepartum concerns for intraamniotic infection or non-reassuring fetal status were included in the criteria.
Of the 7,549 infants included in the study, 1121 were born with low-risk deliveries, while 6,428 were spared from the risk. At least 41 infants had a confirmed case of Early Onset Sepsis.
Dr Dustin said that 4,00,000 uninfected term infants received antibiotics at birth every year. He also said that 90% of preterm infants receive antibiotics. He further said that a sizeable proportion of these infants do not require to be administered antibiotics.
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