ABSTRACT
Eighty-seven breast milk samples were obtained from 63 mothers of infants on the neonatal intensive care unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. The samples were cultured for bacteria immediately after collection (0 h) and then stored in a domestic refrigerator from where cultures were repeated at 6-hourly intervals for 24 h. At 0 h, three (3.4%) of the samples were sterile; 56 (64%) grew coagulase negative staphylococci, and one (1.1%) Streptococcus viridans. Thus, 60 (69%) of the samples were either sterile or contained only skin commensals. Twenty-nine (31%) grew potential pathogens--coagulase positive staphylococci in two (2.3%) and mixed growth of staphylococci, coliforms and klebsiella in 25 (28.3%). During the 24 h storage in the refrigerator, bacteria multiplied in 50 and their growth was inhibited in 32 of the samples. But the mean bacterial count at any time during the 24 h was not significantly different from that at the beginning of the storage in the refrigerator. It is proposed that expressed breast milk stored in a domestic refrigerator can be given safely to infants within 24 h of collection if heavy contamination is prevented at the time of collection.
Subject(s)
Bacteria , Milk, Human/microbiology , Refrigeration , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Female , Humans , Klebsiella/isolation & purification , Staphylococcus/isolation & purification , Streptococcus/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
In a study of 91 babies with dehydration as a result of gastroenteritis the intraperitoneal route was found to be safe and effective in those with mild or moderate dehydration, but not in those who were severely dehydrated. The fluids found to be most effective in the intraperitoneal technique were normal saline with 28 mEq of potassium chloride per litre, or for hypertonically dehydrated babies half-strength Darrow's solution. This technique can be carried out by a nurse working single-handed if the baby is premedicated with promazine.
