[Bacteroides fragilis. Maternal-placental and foetal contamination (author's transl)]. / Bacteroides fragilis. Contamination materno-placento-foetale.

In order to study the maternal-placental and foetal contamination, cytologic study and aerobic-anaerobic cultures were performed on 1 000 placentae of infants who were referred to the Intensive Care Unit. Bacteroides were isolated from 30 specimens, and on smears, Gram negative bacteria were found on 11 of these cases. Only in 2 infants Bacteroides were isolated from blood, gastric aspirate and meconium; 20 infants were said to be infected on clinical and biological bases; eight were normal. Bacteroides infection is usually benign; the symptoms are not specific; the diagnosis is often delayed and the treatment uneasy. Nowadays, Carbenicillin, Ticarcilin, Cefoxin or Metronidazole are advised, according to the sensibility of the organism.

[Neonatal listeriosis. Apropos of 53 cases]. / Listériose néonatale. A propos de 53 cas.

53 cases of neonatal listeriosis were seen during the last five years at the Intensive Care Unit for newborn infants (Pr Minkowski) and the Neonatal Center (P. Varangot) of the Port-Royal Maternity Hospital. The significant decline in mortality to 22 p. 100, when compared with previous years, was attributed to improvements in the diagnosis during the first hours of life and the contribution of artificial ventilation. The most frequent initial clinical sign was respiratory distress (58 p. 100) whereas meningitis was relatively rare (11 p. 100). Discoloration of the amniotic fluid and a fever in the mother at the time of delivery, were also important diagnostic clues. The macroscopic examination of the placenta and particularly placental smears containing listeria monocytogenes (15 of the specimens) as well as the hematological alterations, particularly an increase of the fibrinogen level above 3-4 g/1 during the first 48 hous of life (72 p. 100 of the cases) contributed to an early diagnosis.