Source of the conjunctival bacterial flora at birth and implications for ophthalmia neonatorum prophylaxis.

To understand better the source of conjunctival bacteria in neonates, we studied 106 infants immediately after birth before any eyedrops were applied. The 50 infants delivered by cesarean section had significantly fewer species (0.50 +/- 0.85 vs 1.84 +/- 1.33) and colony forming units (272 +/- 1,019 vs 1,790 +/- 3,779) cultured per subject than the 56 infants delivered vaginally. In infants delivered by cesarean section within three hours of membrane rupture, 24 of 30 (80%) of the conjunctival cultures were sterile, while the rest bore a few cutaneous bacteria (0.23 +/- 0.50 species and 2 +/- 9 colony forming units per subject). The conjunctivae of infants delivered vaginally bore significantly more bacteria characteristic of vaginal flora: microaerophilic as Lactobacillus or truly anaerobic as Bifidobacterium. Neonates delivered by cesarean section more than three hours after membrane rupture showed a bacteriologic flora mixture quantitatively and qualitatively midway between those two groups. Infants delivered by cesarean section within three hours of membrane rupture may not need prophylactic eyedrops because of the type and scarcity of conjunctival bacteria.

Bacterial flora of the conjunctiva at birth.

In the largest study to date of bacterial flora in newborns, we cultured the conjunctivae of 100 infants within 15 minutes after vaginal delivery and before any antimicrobial agents had been applied to the eye. All cultures were intensively analyzed for anaerobic and aerobic bacteria. By far the largest group of bacteria isolated were microaerophilic, such as Lactobacillus species and diphtheroids, accounting for 46.8% of positive cultures and 62.3% of all bacteria isolated. The second largest group were true anaerobic bacteria, such as Bacteroides and Propionibacterium species. The smallest group were aerobic bacteria. This incidence of non-aerobic bacteria in the conjunctiva of newborns is the highest reported to date. Our finding should alert clinicians to consider non-aerobic, especially microaerophilic, bacteria in the differential diagnosis of ophthalmia neonatorum. The high rate of supposedly sterile cultures reported in other studies may be explained at least partially by improper isolation of non-aerobic bacteria.

The frequency of foreskin problems in uncircumcised children.

We performed a retrospective survey to determine the frequency of problems of the foreskin among uncircumcised children. Among 545 boys aged 4 months to 12 years, there were 272 uncircumcised boys and 273 control patients who were circumcised at birth. The total frequency of complications was significantly higher in the uncircumcised group (14% vs 6%). Both balanitis (6% vs 3%) and irritation (4% vs 1%) were more frequent among the uncircumcised children, but the difference was not statistically significant. Problems with adhesions were uncommon (1.5%) and equal in both groups. Symptomatic phimosis was seen in eight patients. The frequency of medical visits for penile problems was significantly higher in the uncircumcised group (10% vs 5%). Although the overall frequency of complications was higher among the uncircumcised children, most of the problems were minor.