The Arts and Sciences of Choriophobia

Thirty years ago, a unique article entitled “Vigintiphobia” by Jon Watchko and the late Frank Oski was published in our journal. What made this article unique was that it was written as a one act play involving a resident, a general pediatrician and a neonatologist who debated the controversies surrounding whether or not a bilirubin greater than 20 was as scary as it sounded in otherwise healthy full-term babies. This article got a lot of attention not just for its scientific content but for its unique and somewhat artistic style of presentation.

This week, we present a new one act play entitled “Choriophobia” written by James Taylor and Douglas Opel (doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-0106). Reintroducing the roles of resident and attending, the two characters in this dramatic saga review the controversies and the evidence supporting (or maybe not supporting) the management of an otherwise healthy newborn born to a mother with presumptive chorioamnionitis and a negative screen for Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Is 48 hours of antibiotics truly warranted in this situation when the risk of early onset sepsis is less than 1%? Is this a high enough risk to treat all babies with intravenous antibiotics in the setting of a mother’s negative GBS status? These questions and others comprise the interesting and at times quite entertaining dialogue that might not only be read, but perhaps performed to truly appreciate the drama involved in the controversies shared in this unique article. Don’t miss this one!