Background : Group B streptococci (GBS) is known to be major cause of neonatal meningitis and bacteremia, and the infections also has been increasing in adults, particularly those with serious underlying diseases. This study is designed to define the trend of infection rate by year, underlying conditions, clinical outcome of group B streptococcal bacteremia, and to compare the distribution of age, sex, and serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility between invasive and noninvasive GBS infections.

Methods : We analyzed the medical records of 36 cases with group B streptococcal bacteremia between 1990 and 2003, and compared the distribution of age, sex, serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility between invasive and noninvasive GBS infections with GBS strains stocked from 1990 to 2000 at Wonju Christian Hospital.

Results : Of 36 GBS bacteremia patients, four (11.1%) patients were early-onset neonatal infection, 9 (25.0%) were late-onset neonatal infection, and 23 (63.9%) were older than 30 years of age. In the 23 adult patients, 19 (82.6%) patients had one or more underlying diseases, and liver cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus were the most common underlying diseases. There is no significant difference of antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution of GBS between invasive and noninvasive infections.

Conclusion :Bacteremia caused by GBS were prevalent in adult patients with chronic underlying diseases. In neonate, late-onset bacteremia was more common than early-onset bacteremia. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2004;7(1):43-47)