Abstract:Objective To study the clinical features of very preterm infants with prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) and predictive factors for early-onset sepsis (EOS) and death. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of the very preterm infants with PROM (with a gestational age of < 32 weeks) who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January 2018 to May 2020. According to the time from membrane rupture to delivery, the infants were divided into four groups: < 18 hours (n=107), 18 hours to < 3 days (n=111), 3 days to < 14 days (n=144), and ≥ 14 days (n=37). According to the presence or absence of EOS, the infants were divided into EOS (n=42) and non-EOS groups (n=357). According to the survival state, the infants were divided into a survival group (n=359) and a death group (n=40). Clinical features were analyzed for very preterm infants with different times of PROM. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the predictive factors for EOS and death in very preterm infants with PROM. Results There was no significant difference in the incidence rates of major neonatal complications and mortality rate among the very preterm infants with different times of PROM (P > 0.05). Birth weight < 1 000 g (OR=4.353, P=0.042), grade Ⅲ amniotic fluid contamination (OR=4.132, P=0.032), and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (OR=2.528, P=0.021) were predictive factors for EOS in very preterm infants with PROM. Lower birth weights (< 1 000 g or 1 000-1 499 g; OR=11.267 and 3.456 respectively; P=0.004 and 0.050 respectively), grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ RDS (OR=5.572, P < 0.001), and neonatal sepsis (OR=2.631, P=0.012) were predictive factors for death in very preterm infants with PROM. Conclusions Prolonged PROM does not increase the incidence of neonatal complications and mortality in very preterm infants. Adverse outcomes of very preterm infants with PROM are mainly associated with lower birth weights, lung immaturity, and systemic infection.
