[Effect of premature rupture of membranes on maternal infections and outcome of preterm infants].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) on maternal infections and outcome of preterm infants.

METHODS: A total of 441 preterm infants and 387 mothers were enrolled as subjects. According to the presence or absence of PROM, the mothers were divided into non-PROM group with 104 mothers, PROM duration <72 hours group with 90 mothers, and PROM duration ≥72 hours group with 193 mothers. The three groups were compared in terms of clinical features of mothers and infants and complications.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group and the PROM duration <72 hours group, the PROM duration ≥72 hours group had significantly higher maternal age, incidence rate of umbilical vasculitis, and rate of antibiotic use; the PROM duration ≥72 hours group had a significantly higher incidence rate of moderate-to-severe chorioamnionitis than the control group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between the PROM duration ≥72 hours group and the PROM duration <72 hours group (P>0.05). Compared with the control group and the PROM duration <72 hours group, the PROM duration ≥72 hours group had significantly higher incidence rates of pneumonia and intracranial hemorrhage in preterm infants; the PROM duration ≥72 hours group had a significantly higher incidence rate of congenital infection and a significantly longer mean length of hospital stay compared with the control group (P<0.05), while there were no significant differences between the PROM duration ≥72 hours group and the PROM duration <72 hours group (P>0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that PROM duration ≥72 hours was an independent risk factors for pneumonia (OR=2.200, 95%CI: 1.386-3.492) and intracranial hemorrhage (OR=2.331, 95%CI: 1.420-3.827) in preterm infants.

CONCLUSIONS: PROM duration ≥72 hours significantly increases the risk of placental infection in mothers and it is an independent risk factor for pneumonia and intracranial hemorrhage in preterm infants.