PROPHYLAXIS OF GONORRHEAL OPHTHALMIA OF THE NEWBORN

Abstract

Although it has been known for several centuries¹that ophthalmia neonatorum probably resulted from contamination of the conjunctiva during the passage of the child through the birth canal, it remained for Crede²to make the first great contribution to the prophylaxis of this infection. Since his introduction of the silver nitrate method of prophylaxis, there has been a remarkable reduction of gonorrheal conjunctivitis and its complications in the newborn. In spite of this there have been persistent criticisms of the use of the drugs, and numerous substitutes have been proposed. However, none has seemed to offer the advantages of the silver compounds until the introduction of penicillin. Therefore the following study was made in an attempt to compare the effects of silver nitrate and penicillin in the prophylaxis of gonorrheal conjunctivitis of the newborn. <h3>METHODS</h3> As previously reported,³studies of the bacterial flora of the antepartum cervix