Bacterial Isolates From Patients With Preterm Labor With and Without Preterm Rupture of the Fetal Membranes

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the bacterial flora of women in preterm labor with or without premature rupture of membranes.Methods: Retrospective studies of 239 patients with preterm labor were performed.Results: One hundred and twenty-three of 239 patients with preterm labor (51.5%) had bacterial vaginosis. Seventy of the 239 patients with preterm labor (29.3 %) developed premature rupture of the membranes (preterm PROM). Ofthe 70 patients with preterm PROM, 51 (72.9%) had bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, 51 of the 123 patients with bacterial vaginosis (41.5%) developed preterm PROM. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor was associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor complicated with bacterial vaginosis was significantly associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test.Conclusions: In preterm labor, the number of different species detected in the vagina provide sensitive and specific prediction of preterm PROM in patients with preterm labor. Infect. Dis. Obstet. Gynecol. 7:190–194, 1999.