Universal gestational screening for Streptococcus agalactiae colonization and neonatal infection - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The review aimed to analyze the evidence of the correlation between universal screening for Streptococcus agalactiae colonization in pregnant women and early onset Group B neonatal infection. The research followed the descriptors "screening", "pregnancy", "Streptococcus agalactiae" and "neonatal infections" on the Pubmed, scielo and LILACS databases, for studies published in English between January 1st, 2008 and April 24th, 2018. A total of 200 articles were found, of which 198 were excluded. The present review presented some limiting factors, including the low number of studies selected, the difference of patients included, the risk profile of the populations and the results of the isolated studies, expressed in a significant difference between them. The statistical calculations were performed using secondary data. The meta-analysis revealed a Risk Ratio of 0.37 with a 95% of Confidence Interval, indicating a positive factor for the questioning of this review. However, should be understood as a trend, since a small amount of studies were found. More structured clinical studies are recommended to assess the impact of gestational screening for GBS and neonatal infection to better inform public health measures in gestational and neonatal health.