Meconium in the Amniotic Fluid of Pregnancies Complicated by Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes Is Associated With Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis

1995

Meconium in Amniotic Fluid Linked to Neonatal Sepsis

Sample size: 124 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Michael J. Kupferminc, Elizabeth Wickstrom, Nam H. Cho, Patricia M. Garcia

Primary Institution: Northwestern University Medical School

Is meconium in the amniotic fluid of pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes associated with early onset neonatal sepsis?

Meconium in the amniotic fluid of pregnancies complicated by PPROM is associated with an increased incidence of early onset neonatal sepsis.

Early onset neonatal sepsis was significantly more common in the study group (16.1% vs. 1.1%).
Chorioamnionitis was more common in pregnancies with meconium (48.3% vs. 22.5%).
Cesarean delivery for nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern was higher in the study group (19.4% vs. 3.2%).
Apgar scores less than 7 were more frequent in the study group (22.5% vs. 8.6%).
Fetal growth retardation was more common in the study group (12.9% vs. 2.2%).
The mean umbilical cord arterial pH was significantly lower in the study group (7.18 vs. 7.28).
Meconium in the amniotic fluid remained associated with early onset neonatal sepsis after controlling for confounding variables.
Chorioamnionitis was also associated with neonatal sepsis.

If a baby is born when the water breaks early and there's meconium in the fluid, they might get sick more easily.

A case-control study comparing pregnancies with and without meconium in the amniotic fluid.

Potential biases due to matching and retrospective data collection.

The study spanned several years, leading to variability in management practices.

Pregnancies complicated by PPROM, matched for year of delivery, gestational age, race, and parity.

<0.001

95% CI: 1.2-105.0

p<0.001

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