Prevalence of positive recto-vaginal culture for Group B streptococcus in pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation

BACKGROUND: Recto-vaginal colonization of Group B streptococcus (GBS) has been known as an important issue in mother and newborn's health, which is getting frequent in developing countries. Screening test have been introduced and utilized in many countries and is recommended by many researchers. However, due to lack of information in prevalence of GBS, especially in Iran, there are doubts and controversies regarding whether it is necessary to execute any effort to run screening tests. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of positive recto-vaginal culture for GBS in pregnant women between 35-37 weeks of pregnancy in Tehran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, pregnant women in 35(th)-37(th) week of pregnancy were included. All hospitals in Tehran, Iran, were stratified and clustered, and the sampling was done randomly. All recto-vaginal samples were referred to Firoozgar Hospital's pathology laboratory in less than an hour and the results were reported afterwards. Other demographic information and pregnancy and neonatal-related complications such as previous pre-term delivery, PROM (Premature rupture of membrane) and neonatal sepsis and maternal infection were evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of positive GBS cultures was 22.76% (234 Out of 1028). No significant difference was found in positive cultures with mother's age, educational level, and history of pregnancy, maternal complications, and previous neonatal sepsis. CONCLUSION: Due to similar results with other countries, recto-vaginal GBS culture screening is recommended in Iranian urban pregnant women regarding high prevalence and higher neonatal complication.