We further agree with the authors that the use
of rapid PCR testing should be investigated for its clinical benefits,
sensitivity and specificity. This is even more pressing as the
colonisation of GBS is transient, as addressed through the statistics
provided by Lamont et al.1 Transient colonisation
leads to problems of missing cases when using culture in the screening
policies. However missed cases occur in risk-based policies as well. We
extracted data from studies in the review, which showed missed cases to
be 41% of EOGBS cases in the risk-based group compared to 24% in the
screening group (weighted mean).2