Subgingival Fusobacterium Nucleatum in Mothers With Preterm Low Birth Weight Infants at Kiambu Level 5 Hospital and Its Relationship to Periodontal Disease

Abstract

Preterm birth (PB) and low birth weight (LBW) are some of the main contributors to morbidity and mortality in neonates. Risk factors for preterm birth and low birth weight (PLBW) are tobacco, maternal body-mass index, socioeconomic disparities, older age of giving birth, multiple pregnancies and infections including periodontal disease. Fusobacterium Nucleatum is among the periodontal pathogens that have been isolated in amniotic fluid and associated with PLBW. It is proposed that it may spread to the placenta during a transient bacteraemia following periodontal disease. Main objective To investigate the relationship between occurrence of subgingival Fusobacterium nucleatum DNA and PLBW infants in postpartum mothers at Kiambu Level 5 Hospital. Study design This was an unmatched case control study. Materials and Methods A screening form was used to exclude mothers who did not fit the inclusion criteria. Sociodemographic data was collected and filled in a questionnaire. Weight at birth, gestation age at birth of the new-born was retrieved from the participant’s medical records and recorded in the clinical examination forms. Cases were mothers who delivered a new-born of less than 37 weeks gestation age (preterm), while controls were mothers who delivered a new-born of 37 weeks gestation age and above (term). Plaque score (Silness and Loe 1964), gingival index (Loe and Silness 1963), periodontal probing depth, and the level of clinical attachment was used to determine the periodontal status of the participants. Plaque samples were collected from the participants using sterilised size 30 endodontic paper points. Plaque.....................