Histological chorioamnionitis and the risk of early intraventricular hemorrhage in infants born < or =28 weeks gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that histological chorioamnionitis (CA) is not associated with increased risk of early onset intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). STUDY DESIGN: Clinical data were prospectively collected for 62 consecutive neonates born before 28 weeks of gestation. Placental histology for CA was performed by a pathologist unaware of the head ultrasound scan (HUS) results. The first HUS was obtained by 30 minutes of life. Follow-up HUS were performed before 24 hours and again at 48 to 72 postnatal hours of life. An IVH (grade I to IV) at less than 72 hours of life was deemed an early hemorrhage. RESULTS: Nine of the 62 (14.5%) infants had early onset IVH. In all, 29 infants were born to women with histological evidence of CA; 33 infants did not have CA. Infants did not differ in birth weight, gestational age, sex, cord blood pH, 5-minute Apgar score of <7, cesarean delivery, prenatal use of steroids, administration of tocolytics, need for resuscitation, presence of pneumothorax, platelet count at birth, or use of surfactant. Early IVH rates (3/29 in CA vs 6/33 in non-CA) were similar (p=0.48). Two infants in each group with early IVH died before 2 weeks of age. Five additional infants from the CA group developed IVH at more than 72 postnatal hours of life (late onset IVH), and two of those infants progressed to develop periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). In contrast, only three non-CA infants had late IVH and none developed PVL. Logistic regression confirmed that no perinatal variables including CA were associated with early onset IVH. CONCLUSION: Chorioamnionitis is not associated with increased risk of early IVH.