Abstract
The potential risk of infection among newborn infants raised under open radiant heaters (RH) Is uncertain. In a prospective, controlled study, rates of bacterial colonization of the anterior nares, umbilicus and groin were determined during the first 3 days of life in 15 infants raised under RH and in 27 Infants raised in isolette incubators (I). None of the infants received systemic antibiotics during the study.
Decreased bacterial colonization was observed at all sites on each day of the study in the RH group. This was due to the almost complete absence of colonization with S. aureus in these infants. In contrast, colonization with S. aureus at the 3 sites ranged from 3.7 to 40.7% among the I Infants. S. epidermidis, the most commonly encounted organism, was seen with comparable frequency in both groups. There was also no intergroup difference in the prevalence of E. coli and other enterobacteriaceae. Systemic and topical infections were not observed in either group.
These results suggest that RH inhibits colonization of the skin and nares with S. aureus, and may play a beneficial role in reducing the incidence of staphylococcal infection.
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Chang, C., Glass, L., Eans, H. et al. BACTERIAL COLONIZATION OF INFANTS RAISED IN INCUBA- TORS AND UNDER RADIANT HEATERS. Pediatr Res 11, 434 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00389
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00389
