Clinical chorioamnionitis at term X: microbiology, clinical signs, placental pathology, and neonatal bacteremia - implications for clinical care.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-26-2021
Publication Title
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Clinical chorioamnionitis at term is considered the most common infection-related diagnosis in labor and delivery units worldwide. The syndrome affects 5-12% of all term pregnancies and is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as neonatal death and sepsis. The objectives of this study were to determine the (1) amniotic fluid microbiology using cultivation and molecular microbiologic techniques; (2) diagnostic accuracy of the clinical criteria used to identify patients with intra-amniotic infection; (3) relationship between acute inflammatory lesions of the placenta (maternal and fetal inflammatory responses) and amniotic fluid microbiology and inflammatory markers; and (4) frequency of neonatal bacteremia.
METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 43 women with the diagnosis of clinical chorioamnionitis at term. The presence of microorganisms in the amniotic cavity was determined through the analysis of amniotic fluid samples by cultivation for aerobes, anaerobes, and genital mycoplasmas. A broad-range polymerase chain reaction coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was also used to detect bacteria, select viruses, and fungi. Intra-amniotic inflammation was defined as an elevated amniotic fluid interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration ≥2.6 ng/mL.
RESULTS: (1) Intra-amniotic infection (defined as the combination of microorganisms detected in amniotic fluid and an elevated IL-6 concentration) was present in 63% (27/43) of cases; (2) the most common microorganisms found in the amniotic fluid samples were
CONCLUSIONS: Clinical chorioamnionitis at term, a syndrome that can result from intra-amniotic infection, was diagnosed in approximately 63% of cases and sterile intra-amniotic inflammation in 5% of cases. However, a substantial number of patients had no evidence of intra-amniotic infection or intra-amniotic inflammation. Evidence of the fetal inflammatory response syndrome was frequently present, but microorganisms were detected in only 4.9% of cases based on cultures of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in neonatal blood.
Volume
49
Issue
3
First Page
275
Last Page
298
Recommended Citation
Romero R, Pacora P, Kusanovic JP, Jung E, Panaitescu B, Maymon E, Erez O, Berman S, Bryant DR, Gomez-Lopez N, Theis KR, Bhatti G, Kim CJ, Yoon BH, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Yeo L, Diaz-Primera R, Marin-Concha J, Lannaman K, Alhousseini A, Gomez-Roberts H, Varrey A, Garcia-Sanchez A, Gervasi MT. Clinical chorioamnionitis at term X: microbiology, clinical signs, placental pathology, and neonatal bacteremia - implications for clinical care. J Perinat Med. 2021 Jan 26;49(3):275-298. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2020-0297. PMID: 33544519.
DOI
doi: 10.1515/jpm-2020-0297
ISSN
1619-3997
PubMed ID
33544519