Table 4.
Neonatal outcome of the study population according to the results of amniotic fluid (AF) culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for ureaplasmas.
| Characteristics | Negative AF culture | Positive AF culture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative PCR (group 1; n=44) |
Pa | Positive PCR (group 2; n=10) |
Pb | Group 3 (n=4) |
Pc | |
| Birth weight (g)d | 871 (130–3860) | NS | 760 (160–2000) | NS | 650 (500–768) | NS |
| 1-min Apgar score <4 (n/N) | 24/39 (62%) | NS | 5/8 (63%) | NS | 4/4 (100%) | NS |
| 5-min Apgar score <7 (n/N) | 27/39 (69%) | NS | 6/8 (75%) | NS | 4/4 (100%) | NS |
| Deaths (n) | ||||||
| Shortly after birth, <1 day | 18 (41%) | NS | 5 (50%) | NS | 3 (75%) | NS |
| Perinatal period, <28 days (n) | 22 (50%) | NS | 6 (60%) | NS | 4 (100%) | NS |
| Admission to neonatal intensive care unit (n/N) | 16/26 (62%) | NS | 5/5 (100%) | NS | 1/1 (100%) | NS |
| Significant morbidities (n/N)e | 11/26 (42%) | NS | 4/5 (80%) | NS | 1/1 (100%) | NS |
Comparison between groups 1 and 2.
Comparison between groups 2 and 3.
Comparison between groups 3 and 1.
Values are given as median (range).
Defined as the presence of any of the following conditions: proven congenital neonatal sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, congenital pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage (≥grade II), and necrotizing enterocolitis. Twenty-six neonates who were not actively resuscitated at birth or who died in the delivery room, despite intensive resuscitative efforts, as a result of extreme prematurity were excluded from the analysis because they could not be evaluated with respect to the presence or absence of morbidities.
NS = not significant.