The Association of Histological Chorioamnionitis and Antenatal Steroids on Neonatal Outcome in Preterm Infants Born at Less than Thirty-Four Weeks' Gestation
Neonatology, 08/21/2012
Ahn HM et al. – Histological chorioamnionitis (HC) increased the incidence of early–onset sepsis and IVH in preterm infants of less than 34 weeks’ gestation with a high odds ratio of 9.54. In the presence of HC, antenatal steroids significantly decreased the incidence of BPD.
Methods- Two hundred and fifty-seven infants born at <34 weeks and admitted to Ewha Womans University Hospital from 2005 to 2010 were enrolled.
- They were divided into 2 groups, one with HC (n = 89) and the other without HC (n = 168).
- The clinical characteristics and outcomes of the preterm infants including sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) were analyzed.
- HC was associated with IVH (p = 0.019) and early-onset sepsis (p = 0.038). In the HC group, the infants exposed to antenatal steroids developed BPD less than those without steroid exposure.
- The duration of mechanical ventilation was significantly decreased in the group with antenatal steroids.
