Assessing the pharmacokinetics of Ampicillin in newborns' umbilical cord blood and plasma after intrapartum administration for preventing early onset group B streptococcal infection (A prospective study)

A I M Hasan; I S I Mohamed; M S Mahmoud; A S I Mansour; M M M Saber; M F H Mohammed; M M A M Elfayoumy; M S M Mansour; E N A Mansour; N F Agaba; G N Abd El-Aal; S N Ramdan; S S AbdElgawad; H M Nasr; S A Mohamed; N M Abdalrahim; L A Gad; S A Tahoun; Z N Hamed; M B Yahia; R M Abdelwahed; M M El-Naghi; I A K Mahmoud; A Abady A Ali

doi:10.7417/CT.2025.5234

Assessing the pharmacokinetics of Ampicillin in newborns' umbilical cord blood and plasma after intrapartum administration for preventing early onset group B streptococcal infection (A prospective study)

Clin Ter. 2025;176(3):358-362. doi: 10.7417/CT.2025.5234.

Authors

A I M Hasan¹, I S I Mohamed¹, M S Mahmoud¹, A S I Mansour¹, M M M Saber¹, M F H Mohammed¹, M M A M Elfayoumy¹, M S M Mansour¹, E N A Mansour², N F Agaba², G N Abd El-Aal², S N Ramdan², S S AbdElgawad², H M Nasr², S A Mohamed², N M Abdalrahim³, L A Gad³, S A Tahoun³, Z N Hamed³, M B Yahia⁴, R M Abdelwahed⁵, M M El-Naghi⁶, I A K Mahmoud⁷, A Abady A Ali¹

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric department Faculty of medicine for boys, Al-Azhar University Cairo, Egypt.
² Pediatric department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls. Al-Azhar university, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Clinical pathology department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls. Al-Azhar university, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴ Blinical pathology department, Faculty of Medicine for boys. Al-Azhar university, Cairo, Egypt.
⁵ Obstetrics and Gy-necology department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls AL-Azhar University Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Pediatric department, faculty of medicine, Helwan University, Egypt.
⁷ Pediatric department, faculty of medicine, Assuit University, Egypt.

PMID: 40525369
DOI: 10.7417/CT.2025.5234

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not ampicillin, following a standard prophylactic dose against group B streptococcal infection, reaches concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in maternal plasma and umbilical cord blood (UCB).

Patients and methods: From January 2024 to December 2024, this prospective study was conducted at Al-Azhar and Helwan University Hospitals and included 200 newborns whose moms had received intrapartum ampicillin. There were 200 maternal plasma samples and 200 UCB samples available for examination (between 5 and 75 minutes postpartum).

Results: As fast as five minutes after ampicillin infusion, the mean ampicillin concentrations found in maternal and umbilical cord sera all surpassed the lowest bactericidal values documented for group B streptococci (0.25 to 2.0 micrograms/ml).

Conclusion: Neonatal quantities of ampicillin over the MIC of GBS are the result of intrapartum dosing.

Keywords: GBS prophylaxis; ampicillin; pharmaco-kinetics; prophylaxis.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Ampicillin* / administration & dosage
Ampicillin* / blood
Ampicillin* / pharmacokinetics
Ampicillin* / therapeutic use
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / administration & dosage
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / blood
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacokinetics
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / therapeutic use
Antibiotic Prophylaxis*
Female
Fetal Blood* / chemistry
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / prevention & control
Prospective Studies
Streptococcal Infections* / prevention & control
Streptococcus agalactiae* / drug effects

Substances

Ampicillin
Anti-Bacterial Agents