Diagnosis and Management of Intraamniotic Infection

Abstract

Intraamniotic infection (IAI) or chorioamnionitis is a common cause of preterm birth and may cause adverse neonatal outcomes, including neonatal pneumonia, respiratory distress, meningitis, sepsis, and death. Maternal morbidities from intraamniotic infection include dysfunctional labor requiring increased intervention, cesarean birth, postpartum uterine atony with hemorrhage, endometritis, peritonitis, sepsis, adult respiratory distress syndrome and, rarely, death. Chorioamnionitis can result from an ascending infection, iatrogenic causes or transplacental passage from maternal blood-borne infections. The clinical findings of chorioamnionitis include maternal fever (≥38 °C), maternal (>100 beats per minute) and/or fetal tachycardia (>160 beats per minute), maternal leukocytosis on complete blood count (>15 000 cells/mm3), and uterine tenderness and/or purulent and/or foul-smelling amniotic fluid. The management of chorioamnionitis mainly includes antibiotic therapy and delivery. Women with previable preterm premature rupture of membranes should be offered realistic counseling from a multidisciplinary approach. The separation of the mother and the fetus to preserve the life of the mother should prioritize delivery methods that result in a living fetus if possible, with appropriate neonatal resuscitation available.