Two cases of perinatal listeriosis.

Abstract

SUMMARY Two cases of neonatal listeriosis are described. The incidence in the UK is given and the treatment of the pregnant woman is briefly discussed.Perinatal listeriosis is believed to be rare in Britain but it may be under reported. It carries a high mortality for the child but the mother suffers only a mild illness. Two

Perinatal listeriosis. A report of six cases

“…Untreated maternal infection invariably results in fetal damage in the form of abortion, stillbirth or neonatal sepsis (Relier 1979). Despite other reports (Relier 1979;Robertson et al 1979) an early diagnosis would not have altered the outcome in our five patients who presented with intrauterine deaths. et al 1978).…”

“…This was observed in all our patients. Early diagnosis and treatment can modify the poor prognosis of the infection (Robertson et al 1979;Relier 1979;Fleming et al 1985) and early treatment may have been instrumental in salvaging one infant in our series although the antibiotic of choice, ampicillin (Editorial 1985), was not given initially. Neonatal listeriosis may present either early or late (Larsson.…”

“…Early diagnosis and treatment can modify the poor prognosis of the infection (Robertson et al 1979;Relier 1979;Fleming et al 1985) and early treatment may have been instrumental in salvaging one infant in our series although the antibiotic of choice, ampicillin (Editorial 1985), was not given initially. Despite other reports (Relier 1979;Robertson et al 1979) an early diagnosis would not have altered the outcome in our five patients who presented with intrauterine deaths. The prodromal febrile episodes or 'viral-like' illness are not specific to listeriosis and, furthermore, may precede the expulsion of a macerated fetus by only a matter of hours.…”

Human listeriosis in Britain, 1967–85, a summary of 722 cases: 1. Listeriosis during pregnancy and in the newborn

“…The better prognosis in the series described by Relier [19] may reflect a greater familiarity together with a more rapid recognition of the disease since all the cases described occurred in a single hospital. Robertson and co-workers [26] and Fleming and coworkers [8] remarked that, in common with other serious infectious diseases of the very young, early diagnosis together with appropriate management can markedly modify the poor prognosis of neonatal listeriosis.…”