Real-time PCR GBS detection test rapidly screens intrapartum vaginal specimens.

2004 NOV 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening test for group B Streptococcus (GBS) appears to be an improvement over current recommendations for prophylactic treatment of pregnant women positive for GBS as determined by prenatal culture-based screening.

"GBS are still the leading cause of severe perinatal infections. Current guidelines for prevention recommend intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis (IAP) for pregnant women with a positive prenatal culture-based screening for GBS. To improve this strategy, a rapid screening performed at the onset of labor with the IDI-Strep BTM test (IDI), a real time PCR detection, Infectio Diagnostic IDI, may be used," said P. Melin and colleagues at Belgium's National Reference Laboratory for GBS.

They compared both screening methods and reported their findings at the 44th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) Annual Meeting, held in Washington, DC, October 30-November 2, 2004.

The researchers tested "intrapartum vaginal specimens from 923 pregnant women ... to determine the status of GBS colonization by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended culture method (including selective LIM broth) with a Granada agar (GR) added as well as by the IDI and the immunologic StrepB OIATM test (OIA), BioStar."

Melin and coworkers reported:

* "GBS were ...