Epidemiological, clinical and bacteriological profile of maternal-fetal infection in Libreville and Lambarene in Gabon

Background: Maternal-fetal bacterial infection remains a concern for pediatricians due to diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties and increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this work was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and bacteriological profile of maternal-fetal infection in Libreville and Lambaréné. Methods: This is a prospective and descriptive study carried out in 2 university hospitals in Libreville and the regional hospital of Lambaréné. We included newborns with at least one criterion from the National Agency for Accreditation and Evaluation in Health ANAES. Results: we collected 53 newborns. The ANAES criteria were time to rupture > 18 hours (17%), prematurity ˂37SA and ≥35SA (24.5%), maternal perinatal fever (18.7%), and abnormal amniotic fluid (66%). Newborns were symptomatic (35.9%). Symptoms were dominated by respiratory signs (30.2%). On biology, anemia and thrombocytopenia accounted for 22.6% and 20.8% respectively. The bacterial ecology was dominated by Gram+ cocci (66.7%) consisting of coagulase negative Staphylococci (Staphylococcus lentus = 29.2%). Sensitive antibiotics were vancomycin and ofloxacin. For Gram Negative Bacilli (E. coli = 41.7%), the sensitive antibiotics were amikacin and imipenem. Conclusion: The infectious risk criteria of the ANAES remain relevant in our practice. The bacterial ecology is different from that known with a high sensitivity to unusual antibiotics. Optimization of these antibiotics would reduce morbidity and mortality linked to maternal-fetal infection.