Prevalence and risk factors of chorioamnionitis in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between chorioamnionitis, maternal risk factors and birth outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of 600 pregnant women was conducted at a maternity center in Dhaka from January to October 2011. Outcomes included histologic, microbiologic and clinical chorioamnionitis. Log-binomial models assessed the association between risk factors and histologic chorioamnionitis (HC).

RESULTS: Of the 552 women with placental specimens, 70 (12.7%) were classified with HC: 46 (65.7%) with and 24 (34.3%) without fetal involvement. HC was associated with non-physician care (relative risk [RR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 4.00), home slab or hanging latrine (RR 1.69, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.62), and lack of tetanus toxoid (RR 1.80, 95% CI 1.03 to 3.14). Women with fever (RR 2.30, 95% CI 1.18 to 4.50) or discolored amniotic fluid (RR 1.74, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.81) had a higher risk of HC. Microbiologic and clinical chorioamnionitis were unreliable HC measures.

CONCLUSION: Prevalence of HC is high; many cases are not captured by clinical diagnosis or microbiologic cultures.