OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM in Italy: it is time for change

Ophthalmia neonatorum (ON) refers to any conjunctivitis occurring in the first 28 days of life. In the past Neisseria gonorrhoeae was the most common cause of ON. It decreased with the introduction of prophylaxis at birth with the instillation of silver nitrate 2% (the Credè’s method of prophylaxis). Today, the term ON is used to define any other bacterial infection, in particular due to Chlamydia Trachomatis. Currently, the WHO reccomends topical ocular prophylaxis for prevention of gonococcal and chlamydial conjunctivitis for all neonates. On the contrary, several European countries no longer require universal prophylaxis, opting for screening and treatment of pregnant women at high risk of infection. And what about Italy? Have a look on Italian history of prophylaxis, starting by the first decree issued in 1940, signed by Benito Mussolini. In the following decades the law has undergone many changes. At the moment, legislation is unclear, therefore careful consideration is required in order to draft the correct appoach.

Proportion of ophthalmia neonatorum following prophylaxis with azithromycin eye ointment in newborns at a tertiary care centre in Central Kerala

Background: The objective was to evaluate the proportion of ophthalmia neonatorum among 425 hospital born newborns who had received antibiotic eye prophylaxis within one hour of birth at a tertiary care centre in Central Kerala and to detect their causative organisms.Methods: The study design was an observational study done for a period of 10 months. A total of 425 term well newborn babies were included in the study. At delivery after the normal routine newborn care, babies were received azithromycin 1% eye ointment as prophylaxis for neonatal conjunctivitis in both eyes within one hour of birth. Babies were observed routinely during every vital monitoring for developing signs of neonatal conjunctivitis for the first 72 hours of life at hospital. During outpatient follow ups, 7 to 14 days and 14 to 28 days, these babies were examined for the presence of neonatal conjunctivitis. Babies having neonatal conjunctivitis were treated empirically with the same topical 1% azithromycin eye ointment after taking eye swab for culture and sensitivity in both eyes. The treatment has been modified based on the culture reports. Proportions were compared using Chi-square test with significance at p<0.05.Results: A total 15 (3.5%) of the 425 babies developed ophthalmia neonatorum. The most common isolate was Staphylococcus aureus which was 4 (26.7%) of all positive cultures followed by Escherichia coli 13.3%, Klebsiella pneumoniae 6.7%, Serracia marcescens 6.7%. None of the risk factors were found to be having association with conjunctivitis.Conclusions: This study concludes that a high proportion of neonatal conjunctivitis present despite eye antibiotic prophylaxis, though a greater reduction in cases has been shown when compared with no prophylaxis at our centre during the previous year. S. aureus was the most common causative organism isolated.

Suboptimal prenatal screening of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in a Montréal birthing and tertiary care centre: A retrospective cohort study

Background: The Canadian Paediatric Society no longer recommends the use of universal ocular prophylaxis with erythromycin ointment to prevent ophthalmia neonatorum. Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in all pregnant women is considered the most effective way of preventing vertical transmission and ophthalmia neonatorum. Objective: The aims of this study were to assess prenatal screening rates of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae and to compare sociodemographic factors between those screened and those not screened. Methods: The list of all women who delivered at a tertiary care hospital in Montréal, Québec, between April 2015 and March 2016, was cross-referenced with the list of samples tested for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae. Maternal medical records were reviewed for demographic, prenatal and diagnostic information. Results: Of 2,688 mothers, 2,245 women were screened at least once, but only 2,206 women had at least one valid C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae result the day of delivery (82.1%; 95% CI: 80.6%–83.5%). Infection was detected in 46/2,206 (2.1%) screened women: 42 had C. trachomatis infection, two had N. gonorrhoeae infection and two were co-infected. C. trachomatis infection was more frequent in women younger than 25 years (9.8%; 95% CI: 6.7%–13.8%) than in older women (0.8%; 95% CI: 0.4%–1.3%; p<0.001). Each increase in parity decreased the probability of being tested (adjusted odds ratio=0.89; 95% CI: 0.80%–0.97%; p=0.01). Of those with an initial negative test result, 35/267 (13.1%; 95% CI: 9.3%–17.8%) of women younger than 25 years and 122/1,863 (6.6%; 95% CI: 5.5%–7.8%; p<0.001) of women aged 25 years and older were retested. Subsequent infection was detected in 4/35 (11%) women, all younger than 25. Conclusion: Suboptimal screening rates for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae suggest that current universal ocular prophylaxis cannot be discontinued. Repeating universal screening should be considered, especially among those younger than 25 years.

Culture Positive Cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum in a Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Ophthalmia neonatorum although runs a benign course mostly, sometimes may progress to sight threatening complications. The study was conducted to find the prevalence of culture positive cases of opthalmia neonatorum. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care center from January to December 2019. Ethical clearance was obtained from institutional review committee of Kathmandu Medical College. Convenience sampling was done. All data were entered into excel and, then for analysis, exported to Statistal Package for Social Sciences version 21. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Results: The prevalence of culture positive cases of opthalmia neonaturum is 10 (55.55%) (32.61-78.49 at 95% Confidence Interval). The causative organisms were coagulase negative Staphylococcus 4 (40%), Staphylococcus aureus 3 (30%), Klebsiella 2 (20%) and Pseudomonas 1 (10%). Culture sensitivity of the isolated organisms were different according to the patient even in case of the same organism. Vancomycin 7 ( 70%) was the most sensitive antibiotic followed by Ciprofloxacin 6 (60%), Amikacin 5 (50%) and Cloxacillin 5 (50%) while Azithromycin 1 (10%), Cefixime 1 (10%) and Cotrimoxazole 1 (10%) were the least sensitive. Conclusions: Staphylococcus species was the most common organism isolated from neonates with ophthalmia neonatorum and vancomycin was the most sensitive antibiotic.

Ophthalmia neonatorum in a tertiary referral children’s hospital: A retrospective study

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the aetiology, investigation and management of ophthalmia neonatorum (ON) presenting to a tertiary referral children’s hospital over 5 years. Methods: The eye swab data of all neonates presenting to Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street (Dublin, Ireland) between 1st January 2013 and 3rd September 2018 was analysed. The medical records of all patients with positive eye swab results were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 157 neonates had positive eye swab results. 54 cases were identified as ON. Chlamydia trachomatis (20.4%) was the most common organism identified, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (18.5%), Haemophilus influenzae (14.8%), Moraxella catarrhalis (7.4%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (5.6%), Escherischia coli (3.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.9%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.9%). A bacterial culture swab was tested in all cases (100%), a C. trachomatis/N. gonorrhoeae PCR swab in 70.4% and a viral PCR swab in 35.2%. On subanalysis of the cases that had C. trachomatis/N. gonorrhoeae PCR testing, C. trachomatis was responsible for 28.9% of cases. 50% of cases were hospitalised, intravenous antibiotics were administered in 46.3% and macrolide therapy was prescribed in 38.9%. Conclusions: C. trachomatis was the most common cause of ON in this study and may be responsible for an even higher proportion of cases due to incomplete testing. In keeping with studies in different populations, S. aureus, H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae were also common. As a result, an improved management algorithm for cases of ON has been introduced in this centre.