Vancomycin during delivery hospitalizations for women with group B streptococcus

OBJECTIVE

Vancomycin use for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis is not well characterized. The objective of this study was to describe trends in the use of vancomycin among women undergoing vaginal delivery with group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization.

METHODS

An administrative inpatient database that includes medications was analyzed to evaluate antibiotic use in women undergoing vaginal delivery hospitalizations complicated by GBS colonization from January 2006 to March 2015. Patients with other obstetric or infectious indications for antibiotics were excluded. Frequency of use of individual antibiotic agents was determined. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to assess temporal trends. An adjusted log-linear regression model accounting for demographic and hospital factors with vancomycin receipt as the outcome was performed with adjusted risk ratios (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) as the measure of effect. Hospital level variation in administration of vancomycin was also evaluated.

RESULTS

469,717 deliveries met inclusion criteria and were included in this analysis. Use of vancomycin increased from 0.8% of patients in 2006 to 3.8% of patients in the first quarter of 2015. Comparing 2015 to 2006 both the unadjusted (relative risk 4.89 95% CI 4.26-5.60) and adjusted (aRR 4.52 95% 3.94-5.19) models demonstrated significantly increased likelihood of vancomycin administration. In evaluating hospital level vancomycin use, variation was noted with 8.0% of centers administering vancomycin to ≥6.0% of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Vancomycin is becoming increasingly commonly used for intrapartum GBS prophylaxis. Further research and quality improvements initiatives are indicated to optimize intrapartum GBS antibiotic prophylaxis.

Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness and Associated Changes of Angiogenic Factors in Women with Severe Preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE

Severe preeclampsia complicates roughly 1% of all pregnancies. One defining feature of severe preeclampsia is new onset visual disturbance. The accessibility of the choroid to high-resolution, noninvasive imaging makes it a reasonable target of investigation for disease prediction, stratification, or monitoring in preeclampsia. This study aimed to compare subfoveal choroidal thickness between women with severe preeclampsia and those with normotensive pregnancies, and to investigate associations between such findings and other indicators of disease severity, including gestational age and serum angiogenic factors.

STUDY DESIGN

We designed a case-control study comprised of 36 women diagnosed with severe preeclampsia (cases) matched to 37 normotensive women (controls) by race/ethnicity and parity, all diagnosed in the postpartum period. All patients underwent enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and serum analysis.

RESULTS

Cases showed no difference in subfoveal choroidal thickness compared with controls (p = 0.65). Amongst cases, subfoveal choroidal thickness and gestational age at delivery were inversely related (r = 0.86, p < .001). There was a positive association of placental growth factor with subfoveal choroidal thickness amongst cases (r = 0.54, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

This study suggests a relationship between the degree of disease severity and the magnitude of choroidal thickening. We also show an association between this index and placental growth factor level in the postpartum period.

Antibiotics for 3rd and 4th Degree Vaginal Lacerations, Uterine Tamponade, and Manual Placental Extraction

OBJECTIVE

Trends in use of antibiotics during delivery hospitalizations complicated by (1) 3rd/4th degree vaginal lacerations, (2) manual placenta extraction, and (3) uterine tamponade are not well characterized. The objective of this study was to analyze trends in antibiotic use during vaginal delivery hospitalizations complicated by these three clinical scenarios.

STUDY DESIGN

An administrative inpatient database was used to perform a serial cross-sectional analysis of antibiotic administration during delivery hospitalizations in the United States from January 2006 to March 2015. The primary outcome was receipt of antibiotics during vaginal delivery hospitalizations complicated by (1) 3rd and 4th degree vaginal lacerations, (2) manual placenta extraction, and (3) uterine tamponade. Patients with other indications for antibiotics were excluded. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to assess trends. Adjusted log linear regression analyses including demographic, hospital, and obstetric factors were performed to analyze factors associated with antibiotic receipt for each of these three clinical scenarios in both primary and sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

From 2006 to 2015 the rate of antibiotic administration during delivery hospitalizations decreased from 43.1% in 2006 to 25.5% for 3rd and 4th degree lacerations and from 59.6% to 49.2% for manual extraction (p < 0.01). Administration of antibiotics in the setting of uterine tamponade decreased from 48.6% in 2006 to 27.6% in 2009 before rising to 62.5% in the first quarter of 2015. In adjusted analyses, comparing the first quarter of 2015 to 2006 adjusted risk ratios for antibiotic administration were 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56-0.66) for 3rd and 4th degree vaginal lacerations, 0.76 (95% CI 0.53-1.09) for manual placental extraction, and 0.83 (95% CI 0.76-0.92) for uterine tamponade.

CONCLUSION

Antibiotics are not used consistently during vaginal deliveries complicated by 3rd/4th degree lacerations, manual placenta extraction, and uterine tamponade. These findings support that a significant opportunity exists for comparative effectiveness research to assist in characterizing best practices.