Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reaffirms its recommendation for the use of an antibiotic ointment to prevent gonococcal eye infections in all newborns, a gonorrhea infection that is transmitted from the mother to the newborn during delivery.
Background: The USPSTF routinely makes recommendations about the effectiveness of preventive care services. This latest statement is a reaffirmation of its 2011 recommendation on prevention of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum, a gonorrhea infection of the eye in newborns. This infection can spread to the cornea and cause blindness as early as 24 hours after birth. In the absence of prevention, transmission rates of gonococcal infection from mother to newborn are 30 percent to 50 percent.
(doi:10.1001/jama.2018.21367)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Note: More information about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, its process, and its recommendations can be found on the newsroom page of its website.
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Journal
JAMA