ArticlePediatric health, medicine and therapeutics2021
Expressed Breast Milk Contamination in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Article in Pediatric health, medicine and therapeutics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methicillin-ResistantBioMed research international · 2024Pooled it
- Microbial contamination of medicines, medical devices, cosmetics, child and personal care products: a comprehensive review of secondary contamination risks in home-use settings.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Human milk as a source of next-generation probiotics: quantifyingIranian journal of microbiology · 2025Article
- Foodborne Infections and Mortality Associated With Expressed Breastmilk, Donated Breastmilk, and Infant Formula in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of Peer-Reviewed Evidence Cases.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2025Article
- Molecular Epidemiology Clinical Manifestations, Decolonization Strategies, and Treatment Options of Methicillin-ResistantPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe health benefits of breastfeeding are well known. However, some ill babies including those admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) cannot be directly breastfed. In this situation, expressed breast milk (EBM) can be used. However, breast milk is not always sterile and may be contaminated by many microorganisms. EBM contamination is probably attributed to improper technical and hygienic factors and may pose significant threats to the newborn baby. The present study aimed to document the prevalence of EBM contamination in NICU and to uncover the relevant risk factors. SUBJECTS AND
methodsThe study included 118 mothers who could express breast milk for their own neonates admitted to the NICU. A checklist was used to document the steps the mothers followed during expression of milk and all steps of handling until the EBM reached the NICU. A 1 mL sample of EBM was obtained and sent to the microbiology laboratory within 20 minutes. Data obtained from the present study are expressed as number and percentage or mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical calculations were computed using SPSS 25.
resultsIn the present study, 106 (89.8%) out of the assessed 118 EBM samples were contaminated. Hygienic factors related to EBM contamination included hand only wash, possible recontamination of hands during turning taps off, lack of using cotton pads or cloth piece on nipple and breast cleaning by water only. Other factors related to EBM contamination included container cleaning by water only, fresh milk refrigeration after > 4 hours, adding freshly expressed warm breast milk to refrigerated milk expressed earlier in the same day, milk transport in plastic bags with ice packs and longer transportation time. In the contaminated samples, the most commonly isolated organisms included
conclusionThe present study identified bacterial contamination in about 90% of EBM samples delivered to NICU infants. Factors related to EBM contamination include hygienic, storage and transport factors.
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