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Amniotic fluid infection with Ureaplasma urealyticum or Mycoplasma hominis can cause chorioamnionitis and preterm birth. The aim of this study was to examine whether vaginal Ureaplasma urealyticum/Mycoplasma hominis colonization is predictive of preterm delivery in patients exhibiting signs of threatened preterm birth or those with asymptomatic short cervix. The present retrospective study, which was performed in a perinatal tertiary center, included patients carrying a singleton pregnancy who were referred to the emergency Ob/Gyn unit because of regular preterm uterine contractions and/or short cervical length (<20 mm) at 22–33 weeks of gestation, and in whom a vaginal U. urealyticum/M. hominis examination (Urea-arginine LYO-2, BioMerieux®) was performed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between vaginal U. urealyticum or M. hominis and chorioamnionitis or preterm delivery. The median gestational age of the 94 enrolled patients was 29.9 weeks, and 54 (57%) of the patients were vaginal U. urealyticum/M. hominis-positive. The preterm delivery rate in the positive group was higher than in the negative group (53 versus 25%; p =.007). Vaginal U. urealyticum/M. hominis positivity was found to be an independent risk factor for preterm birth at <37 weeks of gestation (adjusted odds ratio = 4.0, 95% confidence interval, 1.1–15.3) in a multivariate analysis adjusted for age, history of preterm delivery and conization, gestational age, cervical length, presence of vaginal bleeding, vaginal fetal fibronectin and serum C-reactive protein at test. U. urealyticum/M. hominis positivity was not associated with delivery at <34 weeks or chorioamnionitis. A positive vaginal U. urealyticum/M. hominis culture is an independent predictive factor for preterm birth in patients with symptomatic threatened preterm labor and/or short cervix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Magnesium sulfate has neuroprotective effects in preterm infants. Whether other antepartum treatments interfere with the neuroprotective actions is not well known. This study aims to explore the impacts of antenatal administration of Magnesium sulfate or beta‐2 adrenergic agonists as tocolytic agents on the developing brain in premature infants. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study in four tertiary perinatal centers in Japan. We collected data of pregnant women and infants born between 28 and 36 weeks for tocolytic agents, gestational age, sex, antenatal corticosteroid, fetal growth restriction, pathological chorioamnionitis, low umbilical arterial pH values (<7.1), multiple pregnancy, mode of delivery and institutions after excluding clinical chorioamnionitis, non‐reassuring fetal status or major anomalies. Tocolytic agents were categorized into four groups: no‐tocolysis, magnesium sulfate, beta‐2 adrenergic agonists and the combination of them. We conducted multiple comparisons with multivariate analyses using generalized linear regression models to compare the prevalence of a poor perinatal outcome defined as infant's death, brain damage, particularly cerebral palsy and developmental delay. Results: Among 1083 infants, 39% were no‐tocolysis, 47% were magnesium sulfate, 41% were beta‐2 adrenergic agonists and 27% were combination group, including the duplication. The incidence of poor perinatal outcome was decreased by magnesium sulfate (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10–0.72), but not changed significantly by beta‐2 adrenergic agonists (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.63–2.59) or the combination group (OR 2.24, 95% CI 0.67–7.54), compared with the no‐tocolysis. Conclusion: The combination therapy for tocolysis with beta‐2 adrenergic agonists diminished the magnesium sulfate neuroprotective action after adjusting for covariables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Late preterm infants are still high risk for respiratory problems. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors associated with respiratory problems in Japanese late preterm infants.Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, we included singleton late preterm deliveries at 34+(0/7)-36+(6/7) weeks of gestation. We excluded cases with congenital anomalies. We defined neonatal respiratory disorders (NRD) as the combination of the need for mechanical ventilation or the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure. We examined the perinatal risk factors associated with NRD.Results: We included 683 late preterm infants. We found that 13.7%, 6.8% and 2.6% of the infants with NRD were born at 34, 35 and 36 weeks of gestation, respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for confounders, the gestational age (GA) at birth (adjusted odds ratio 0.40 per week [95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.61]), cesarean birth (4.18 [2.11-8.84]), and a low Apgar score (33.3 [9.93-121.3]) were independent risk factors associated with NRD.Conclusions: An earlier GA, cesarean delivery, and a low Apgar score are independent risk factors associated with NRD in singleton late preterm infants. Patients with late preterm deliveries exhibiting these risk factors should be managed in the intensive delivery setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]