A Retrospective Audit of Maternal Bacteraemia in a Tertiary Referral Maternity Hospital in Brisbane, Australia From 2015 to 2024
Adam Morton, Jill Parkes‐SmithABSTRACT
Background
Maternal infection is a major cause of pregnancy‐related maternal morbidity and mortality in Australia.
Objectives
To determine the prevalence, microbiology, probable source, clinical characteristics, laboratory results, time to antibiotic therapy, reasons for intensive care admission, and maternal morbidity and mortality of maternal bacteraemia at a tertiary referral maternity hospital in Brisbane, Australia, over a ten‐year period.
Materials and Methods
A retrospective review of pregnant patients with positive blood cultures between January 2015 and December 2024 at a tertiary level obstetric hospital in Brisbane, Australia, was performed.
Results
There were 59 patients with pathogenic organisms grown on blood cultures (0.96 per 1000 deliveries) and 29 patients with presumed contaminants. Physical signs and laboratory investigations were not useful in differentiating between patients whose blood cultures grew pathogenic bacteraemia, those which grew presumed contaminants, and those whose blood cultures were negative. The predominant bacterial species were Streptococcus species and
Conclusions
A continuing policy of early identification of possible maternal infection, and prompt antibiotic therapy and resuscitation are indicated. Despite expeditious management, a significant proportion of patients deteriorated and required admission to an intensive care unit, emphasising the importance of close observation following initial antibiotic therapy, particularly in patients with suspected urosepsis and/or