G Fung, K Bawden, P Chow, V Yu

Abstract

Chorioamnionitis, a risk factor for preterm labour, has been reported to cause a fetal inflammatory response that predisposes the preterm infant to lung and brain injury. This study compared the outcome of 72 infants born below 28 weeks gestation or 1000 g birthweight with chorioamnionitis (Group A, n=18) and without chorioamnionitis (Group B, n=54). There was a higher incidence in Group A of raised serum C-reactive protein (60% vs 32%), raised immature to total neutrophil ratio (53% vs 24%), chronic lung disease (54% vs 43%), periventricular haemorrhage (31% vs 22%), retinopathy of prematurity (23% vs 18%), two-year mortality (33% vs 17%), cerebral palsy (25% vs 11%), and visual impairment (25% vs 16%), but none of these differences reach statistically significance. Further studies with larger cohorts are necessary to confirm the relationship between chorioamnionitis and adverse outcome.