We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Rapid Bedside Test to Protect Newborns from Life-Threatening Illnesses

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 04 Jan 2024
Print article
Image: A research project aiming to protect babies from deadly infection has reached a major milestone (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)
Image: A research project aiming to protect babies from deadly infection has reached a major milestone (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a bacterial strain, is the leading cause of severe infections in newborns in the UK. Around one in four pregnant women in the UK are carriers of GBS, often unknowingly, and during childbirth, there's a 50% chance of transmitting the bacteria to the baby. While most exposed infants remain healthy, approximately one in 1,750 will develop early-onset GBS infections, including sepsis, pneumonia, or meningitis, which can have severe consequences. The UK currently employs a 'risk factor-based screening' approach, providing antibiotics during labor to women identified with GBS during pregnancy or those with a previous baby affected by GBS. However, this strategy fails to detect many GBS carriers, with about 65% of early-onset GBS infections in newborns occurring in babies whose mothers had no identified risk factors. Now, a research project is examining the potential of a rapid bedside test for safeguarding newborns from life-threatening illnesses transmitted during birth.

The GBS3 study, conducted by the University of Nottingham (Nottingham, UK), has so far recruited over 1,100 pregnant women across the UK. The research aims to determine whether universally screening pregnant women for GBS can reduce the incidence of newborn infections. The study compares two methods: a test during a prenatal visit around 36 weeks of pregnancy and a quick bedside test conducted as labor begins that delivers results in about 40 minutes. Upon positive results, antibiotics are administered to protect the newborn from potential illness. The study, set to recruit until March 2024, is being conducted in 71 hospitals across England, Wales, and Scotland, out of which 17 sites are equipped for rapid testing.

“This is the first trial of its kind in the world and the results will help to determine whether routine testing should be introduced in the UK,” said Mr. Sachchidananda Maiti, consultant obstetrician, who is leading the study in the North Manchester maternity unit. “Identifying women with GBS with greater accuracy and treating them with antibiotics at the optimum time, could prevent approximately 40 newborn deaths and 25 cases of disability in the UK each year.”

Related Links:
University of Nottingham 

Gold Member
Pharmacogenetics Panel
VeriDose Core Panel v2.0
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Immunofluorescence Analyzer
MPQuanti
New
Biological Indicator Vials
BI-O.K.

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Researcher Kanta Horie places a sample in a mass spectrometer that measures protein levels in blood plasma and other fluids (Photo courtesy of WashU Medicine)

Highly Accurate Blood Test Diagnoses Alzheimer’s and Measures Dementia Progression

Several blood tests are currently available to assist doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms. However, these tests do not provide insights into the clinical... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.