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Pyelonephritis affects 1–2% of pregnant women, and is associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity. Antenatal pyelonephritis has been associated with PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes), preterm labour, low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity. A three-year retrospective dual-centre cohort study of antenatal pyelonephritis cases was conducted in two neighbouring Irish maternity hospitals – the Rotunda Hospital (RH) and the National Maternity Hospital (NMH). Patient demographics, clinical presentation, investigations, management and maternal/neonatal outcomes were recorded. A total of 47,676 deliveries (24,768 RH; 22,908 NMH) were assessed. 158 cases of antenatal pyelonephritis were identified (n = 88 RH, n = 70 NMH), with an incidence of 0.33%. The median age was 28 years. The median gestation was 27 + 6 weeks, with 51% presenting before 28 weeks' gestation. Risk factors included; obesity (18.4%), diabetes mellitus (13.3%) and self-reported clinical history of recurrent urinary tract infection (28.5%). Rate of relapse with UTI in the same pregnancy was 8.2%. Renal ultrasound was performed in 30.4%. Predominant uropathogens were Escherichia coli (60%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (11%) and Proteus mirabilis (5%). 7.5% of cases had a concurrent bloodstream infection, 13.3% of cases were complicated by sepsis and 1.9% with septic shock. Complications including PPROM (6.3%), preterm delivery < 37 weeks' gestation (11%), LBW < 2,500 g (8.2%) were comparable between sites. Delivery within 72 hours of diagnosis was noted in 7% (n = 11) of patients, of which three were preterm and one had LBW. Appropriate and prompt investigation and management of antenatal pyelonephritis is essential given the associated maternal and neonatal morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective audit was performed for all obstetric patients who had positive CMV IgM results between January 2012 and December 2014 in the Rotunda Hospital, Ireland. In total, 622 CMV IgM positive tests were performed on samples from 572 patients. Thirty-seven patients had a positive CMV IgM result (5.9%) on the Architect system as part of the initial screening. Three patients were excluded as they were not obstetric patients. Of the 34 pregnant women with CMV IgM positive results on initial screening, 16 (47%) had CMV IgM positivity confirmed on the second platform (VIDAS) and 18 (53%) did not. In the 16 patients with confirmed positive CMV IgM results, four (25%) had acute infection, two (12.5%) had infection of uncertain timing, and ten (62.5%) had infection more than three months prior to sampling as determined by the CMV IgG avidity index. Two of the four neonates of women with low avidity IgG had CMV DNA detected in urine. Both these cases had severe neurological damage and the indication for testing their mothers was because the biparietal diameter (BPD) was less than the 5th centile at the routine 20-week gestation anomaly scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal sepsis is a significant problem in obstetrics, with almost one in four maternal deaths related to severe sepsis. We carried out a retrospective review of clinically significant bacteraemia in obstetric patients attending Rotunda Hospital over 14 years. From 2001 to 2014, there were 252 clinically significant positive blood culture episodes in obstetric patients. There were 112,361 live births>500 g during the study period giving an overall rate of 2.24 clinically significant positive maternal blood culture episodes per 1000 live births>500 g. The median rate over the 14 years was 2.12 episodes per 1000 live births>500 g, with an interquartile range of 1.74-2.43 per 1000 live births>500 g. There was no discernable increasing or decreasing trend over the 14 years. E. coli was the most commonly isolated organism (n=92/252, 37%), followed by group B Streptococcus (n=64/252, 25%), Staphylococcus aureus (n=28/252, 11%), and anaerobes (n=11/252, 4%). These top four organisms represented three-quarters of all positive blood culture episodes (n=195/252, 77.3%). Of note, there were only five cases of listeriosis, representing a rate of 4.4 cases per 100,000 live births>500 g. The rate of invasive group A streptococcal infection was also very low at 5.3 cases per 100,000 live births>500 g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current national guidance in Ireland states that asymptomatic bacteriuria (AB) should be screened for at 12–16 weeks' gestation and treated with a seven-day course of antimicrobials, due to the potential risk of preterm birth and low birth weight infants (LBWI), however, this is based on low quality evidence. Over a three-year period (2018–2020), a retrospective review was undertaken in two neighbouring maternity hospitals; one of which screens for AB (Rotunda hospital (RH)) and one which does not (National Maternity Hospital (NMH)). Patients were included on the basis of fulfilling the IDSA definition for pyelonephritis and requiring admission for intravenous antibiotics. Rates of antenatal pyelonephritis were compared between hospitals, and between screened and unscreened populations. Secondary outcomes including rates of preterm births and LBWI were compared across sites. A total of 47,676 deliveries between the two centres (24,768 RH; 22,908 NMH) were assessed, of which 158 patients met inclusion criteria for antenatal pyelonephritis (n = 88 RH, n = 70 NMH). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of antenatal pyelonephritis (p = 0.34) or preterm births (p = 0.21) across sites. RH had a significantly higher rate of LBWI at 6.45% versus 5.68% of all births in NMH (p =<0.004). Given the screening rate in RH was below 100%, this cohort was further subdivided into 'RH screened' and 'RH unscreened'. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of antenatal pyelonephritis both between the 'NMH unscreened' group (n = 70) versus the 'RH screened' group (n = 62) (p = 0.53), or in the 'RH screened' group (n = 62) versus the 'RH unscreened' group (n = 26) (p = 0.53). Omission of a screening programme for AB in NMH did not result in higher rates of antenatal pyelonephritis, preterm birth or LBWI. Our findings may inform decision-making on screening protocols and whether selective screening (i.e. screening in high-risk patients only) could be more cost-effective without compromising best quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allplex Bacterial vaginosis assay (Seegene, South Korea) is a molecular test for bacterial vaginosis (BV). A machine learning algorithm was devised on 200 samples (BV = 23, non-BV = 177) converting 7 identified bacterial strains polymerase chain reaction results to binary output of BV detected or not. Comparing algorithm interpretation of molecular results to the consensus Gram stain (Hay's criteria), the sensitivity was 65% [95% confidence interval (CI) 42–83%], specificity was 98% (95% CI 95–99%), positive predictive value was 83% (95% CI 58–96%), and negative predictive value was 95% (91–98%) with area under the curve of 0.82 (95% CI 0.76–0.87). For the second phase, 100 samples were processed using the 2 techniques in parallel, with the scientists blinded to the result of the other method. There was agreement 90% of the cases (n = 90/100). The samples that were called BV by the algorithm but non-BV by Gram stain all cluster with the concordant BV samples, suggesting that the molecular test was correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]