Maternal and neonatal outcomes following expectant management of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes before viability

Respiratory outcomes of neonates born after previable premature rupture of membranes and treated with gentle ventilation

OBJECTIVE

We aim to describe neonatal respiratory outcomes following previable preterm premature rupture of membranes(PPROM) when gentle ventilation is utilized. We also report maternal morbidity and mortality.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a retrospective single-center cohort study of infants delivered between 2016 and 2020 that included infants born at ≥23 weeks without major congenital anomaly after a pregnancy complicated with PPROM before 23 weeks gestation. Statistical analysis utilized unpaired Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test when appropriate.

RESULTS

35 infants from 33 pregnancies were included. 91.4% of infants survived until discharge and 12.1% developed Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD). Those who developed BPD had significantly lower amniotic fluid levels prior to delivery (p < 0.05). There was no significant maternal morbidity or mortality in this cohort.

CONCLUSION

This cohort had high survival and low rates of respiratory morbidities. This suggests the use of gentle ventilation might be the optimal strategy for patients born after previable PPROM.

Outcomes After Induction of Labor Compared With Dilation and Evacuation for the Management of Rupture of Membranes in the Second Trimester

Previable and periviable rupture of membranes is associated with significant morbidity for the pregnant patient. For those who have a choice of options and undergo active management, it is not known how the risks of induction of labor compare with those for dilation and evacuation (D&E). We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with rupture of membranes between 14 0/7 and 23 6/7 weeks of gestation who opted for active management. Adverse events (52.2% vs 16.9%, P <.01) and time to uterine evacuation greater than 24 hours (26.7% vs 9.6%, P =.01) were more common among patients undergoing induction of labor. In a multivariable regression, induction of labor was an independent risk factor for complications (odds ratio 5.70, 95% CI, 2.35-13.82) compared with D&E. Severe complications were rare across both groups (4.4% for patients undergoing induction vs 2.6% for D&E, P =.63). Given the differing risks by termination method, access to D&E is an important treatment option for this patient population.

Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes before 23 weeks' gestation: prospective observational study

Objective

To describe perinatal and maternal outcomes of preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) before 23 weeks' gestation in a national cohort.

Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

National population based cohort study with the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS), a research infrastructure of all 194 obstetric units in the UK, 1 September 2019 to 28 February 2021.

Participants

326 women with singleton and 38 with multiple pregnancies with PPROM between 16+0 and 22+6 weeks+days' gestation.

Main outcome measures

Perinatal outcomes of live birth, survival to discharge from hospital, and severe morbidity, defined as intraventricular haemorrhage grade 3 or 4, or requiring supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age, or both. Maternal outcomes were surgery for removal of the placenta, sepsis, admission to an intensive treatment unit, and death. Clinical data included rates of termination of pregnancy for medical reasons.

Results

Perinatal outcomes were calculated with all terminations of pregnancy for medical reasons excluded, and a worst-best range was calculated assuming that all terminations for medical reasons and those with missing data would have died (minimum value) or all would be liveborn (maximum value). For singleton pregnancies, the live birth rate was 44% (98/223), range 30-62% (98/326-201/326), perinatal survival to discharge from hospital was 26% (54/207), range 17-53% (54/326-173/326), and 18% (38/207), range 12-48% (38/326-157/326) of babies survived without severe morbidity. The rate of maternal sepsis was 12% (39/326) in singleton and 29% (11/38) in multiple pregnancies (P=0.004). Surgery for removal of the placenta was needed in 20% (65/326) and 16% (6/38) of singleton and twin pregnancies, respectively. Five women became severely unwell with sepsis; two died and another three required care in the intensive treatment unit.

Conclusions

In this study, 26% of women who had very early PPROM with expectant management had babies that survived to discharge from hospital. Morbidity and mortality rates were high for both mothers and neonates. Maternal sepsis is a considerable risk that needs more research. These data should be used in counselling families with PPROM before 23 weeks' gestation, and currently available guidelines should be updated accordingly.

Analysis of cases of premature rupture of membranes and preterm births to identify effective management measures to prevent them

OBJECTIVE

Aim: Based on retrospective analysis recognize the key factors of development of premature childbirth and elaborate highly specific criteria for individual prognosis to improve perinatal outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of the birth histories of 250 women and their newborns with spontaneous preterm births at 22-36 weeks was conducted using archival data from the department for pregnant women with obstetric pathology of the State Institution "Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology named by academician OM Lukianova of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine".

RESULTS

Results: Important risk factors for premature rupture of membranes (PROM) in preterm pregnancy include the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (χ2=31.188, p=0.001), bacterial vaginosis (χ2=30.913, p=0.0001), a history of abortion and/or preterm birth (χ2=16.62, p=0.0002), SARS during pregnancy (χ2=16.444, p=0.0002), chronic adnexitis in anamnesis (χ2=11.522, p=0.0031), inflammatory cervical disease (χ2=11.437, p=0.0032), anaemia (χ2=10.815, p=0.0044), isthmic-cervical insufficiency (ІСІ) (χ2=10.345, p=0.0057), chronic pyelonephritis with exacerbation (χ2=9.16, p=0.01), smoking during pregnancy (χ2=10.815, p=0.0044).

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: The results of a retrospective analysis of 250 cases of preterm birth at 22 to 36 weeks allowed us to identify ways to effectively use existing diagnostic measures to determine readiness for pregnancy and the possibility of prolonging pregnancy to the viability of the newborn. Ways to improve the prevention of preterm birth and the design of further research were identified.

Management and Interventions in Previable and Periviable Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes: A Review

Importance

Periviable and previable premature rupture of membranes (pPPROM) occurs in <1% of pregnancies but can have devastating consequences for the mother and the fetus. Understanding risk factors, possible interventions, and both maternal and neonatal outcomes will improve the counseling and care provided for these patients.

Objective

The aim of this review is to describe the etiology, risk factors, management strategies, neonatal and maternal outcomes, and recurrence risk for patients experiencing pPPROM.

Evidence Acquisition

A PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL search was undertaken with unlimited years searched. The search terms used included "previable" OR "periviable" AND "fetal membranes" OR "premature rupture" OR "PROM" OR "PPROM." The search was limited to English language.

Results

There were 181 articles identified, with 41 being the basis of review. Multiple risk factors for pPPROM have been identified, but their predictive value remains low. Interventions that are typically used once the fetus reaches 23 to 24 weeks of gestation have not been shown to improve outcomes when used in the previable and periviable stage. Neonatal outcomes have improved over time, but survival without severe morbidity remains low. Later gestational age at the time of pPPROM and longer latency period have been shown to be associated with improved outcomes.

Conclusions and Relevance

Periviable and previable premature rupture of membranes are uncommon pregnancy events, but neonatal outcomes remain poor, and routine interventions for PPROM >24 weeks of gestation have not proven beneficial. The 2 most reliable prognostic indicators are gestational age at time of pPPROM and length of the latency period.

Human-guided deep learning with ante-hoc explainability by convolutional network from non-image data for pregnancy prognostication

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Deep learning is applied in medicine mostly due to its state-of-the-art performance for diagnostic imaging. Supervisory authorities also require the model to be explainable, but most explain the model after development (post hoc) instead of incorporating explanation into the design (ante hoc). This study aimed to demonstrate a human-guided deep learning with ante-hoc explainability by convolutional network from non-image data to develop, validate, and deploy a prognostic prediction model for PROM and an estimator of time of delivery using a nationwide health insurance database.

METHODS

To guide modeling, we constructed and verified association diagrams respectively from literatures and electronic health records. Non-image data were transformed into meaningful images utilizing predictor-to-predictor similarities, harnessing the power of convolutional neural network mostly used for diagnostic imaging. The network architecture was also inferred from the similarities.

RESULTS

This resulted the best model for prelabor rupture of membranes (n=883, 376) with the area under curves 0.73 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.75) and 0.70 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.71) respectively by internal and external validations, and outperformed previous models found by systematic review. It was explainable by knowledge-based diagrams and model representation.

CONCLUSIONS

This allows prognostication with actionable insights for preventive medicine.

Neonatal outcomes in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes at periviable gestational age

To examine the outcomes of preterm infants born to women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) at periviable gestational age. This is an observational retrospective cohort study analyzing data collected on singleton deliveries complicated by prolonged premature rupture of membranes occurring between 17 and 33 weeks of gestation. Neonatal outcomes including birth weight, Apgar score, retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, hearing impairment and mortality were evaluated. Ninety-four preterm infants who were born after a prolonged premature rupture of membranes of at least 7 days were included in the study. Median gestational week at onset of membrane rupture was 27.1 ± 4.2 weeks (range 17–33) and median latency period in days was 16 ± 21.8 (range 7–105). The cohort was stratified by gestational week (GW) at onset of PPROM (group 1: 17–23, group 2: 24–27, and group 3: 28–33). We found that the survival rate to discharge within neonates born after prolonged rupture of membrane at gestational week less than 24 weeks is 79.2% and 88.9% in group 2. These neonates did not show an increased rate of major morbidities compared to neonates born following membrane rupture at gestational week 24 to 27. We described a high survival rate to discharge without major morbidities following prolonged preterm membrane rupture of at least 7 days of latency before viability.

Maternal and neonatal outcomes of expectantly managed pregnancies with previable preterm premature rupture of membranes

PURPOSE

This study aimed to describe the maternal and fetal outcomes associated with expectant management following previable preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) before 24 weeks of gestation. We also analyzed the risk estimates of potential confounders to clarify whether these variables are contributed to the risk of postnatal mortality among these neonates.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included all pregnant patients who experienced previable PPROM before 24 weeks of gestation at a tertiary maternal-fetal medicine center. We used the neonatal data from birth until discharge.

RESULTS

A total of 128 women were enrolled. The survival to discharge rate was 60.9%. The median latency period (80 vs. 20 days, respectively, p < 0.001) was significantly longer, the median gestational week at delivery (34 vs. 25 weeks, respectively, p < 0.001) and median birth weight (2100 vs. 710 g, p < 0.001) was significantly higher in the survivor group than the non-survivor group. Surviving neonates had significantly lower frequencies of anhydramnios at any time during the latency period than the non-survivor neonates (38.4% vs. 86.0%, respectively, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated an opposite correlation between the duration of latency period and gestational age at PPROM with earlier membrane rupture in pregnancies having a longer latency period, which additionally clarifies the higher gestational age at delivery. The antepartum factors that increased the possibility of postnatal mortality within our study included the gestational week at delivery, duration of the latency period, anhydramnios at any time during the latency period, and birth weight.

Maternal morbidity after preterm premature rupture of membranes at <24 weeks' gestation

BACKGROUND

After preterm premature rupture of membranes at <24 weeks' gestation, pregnant women may choose continuation (expectant management) or termination of pregnancy, via either dilation and evacuation or labor induction. Neonatal outcomes after expectant management are well described. In contrast, limited research addresses maternal outcomes associated with expectant management compared to termination of pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare maternal morbidity after preterm premature rupture of membranes at <24 weeks' gestation in women who choose either expectant management or termination of pregnancy.

STUDY DESIGN

This retrospective cohort study included women with preterm premature rupture of membranes between 14 0/7 and 23 6/7 weeks' gestation with singleton or twin pregnancies at 3 institutions from 2011 to 2018. We excluded pregnancies complicated by fetal anomalies, rupture of membranes immediately after obstetrical procedures (chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, cerclage placement, fetal reduction), spontaneous delivery <24 hours after membrane rupture, and contraindications to expectant management. Our primary outcome was the difference in composite maternal morbidity between women choosing expectant management and women choosing termination of pregnancy. We defined composite maternal morbidity as at least 1 of the following: chorioamnionitis, endometritis, sepsis, unplanned operative procedure after delivery (dilation and curettage, laparoscopy, or laparotomy), injury requiring repair, unplanned hysterectomy, unplanned hysterotomy (excluding cesarean delivery), uterine rupture, hemorrhage of >1000 mL, transfusion, admission to the maternal intensive care unit, acute renal insufficiency, venous thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism, and readmission to the hospital within 6 weeks. We compared the demographic and antenatal characteristics of women choosing expectant management with that of women choosing termination of pregnancy and used logistic regression to quantify the association between initial management decision and composite maternal morbidity.

RESULTS

We identified 350 women with pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes at <24 weeks' gestation, and 208 women were eligible for the study. Of the 208 women, 108 (51.9%) chose expectant management as initial management, and 100 (48.1%) chose termination of pregnancy as initial management. Among women selecting termination of pregnancy, 67.0% underwent labor induction, and 33.0% underwent dilation and evacuation. Compared to women who chose termination of pregnancy, women who chose expectant management had 4.1 times the odds of developing chorioamnionitis (38.0% vs 13.0%; 95% confidence interval, 2.03-8.26) and 2.44 times the odds of postpartum hemorrhage (23.1% vs 11.0%; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-5.26). Admissions to the intensive care unit and unplanned hysterectomy only occurred after expectant management (2.8% vs 0.0% and 0.9% vs 0.0%). Of women who chose expectant management, 36.2% delivered via cesarean delivery with 56.4% non-low transverse uterine incisions. Composite maternal morbidity rates were 60.2% in the expectant management group and 33.0% in the termination of pregnancy group. After adjusting for gestational age at rupture, site, race and ethnicity, gestational age at entry to prenatal care, preterm premature rupture of membranes in a previous pregnancy, twin pregnancy, smoking, cerclage, and cervical examination at the time of presentation, expectant management was associated with 3.47 times the odds of composite maternal morbidity (95% confidence interval, 1.52-7.93), corresponding to an adjusted relative risk of 1.91 (95% confidence interval, 1.35-2.73). Among women who chose expectant management, 15.7% avoided morbidity and had a neonate who survived to discharge.

CONCLUSION

Expectant management for preterm premature rupture of membranes at <24 weeks' gestation was associated with a significantly increased risk of maternal morbidity when compared to termination of pregnancy.

Controversies in treatment practices of the mother-infant dyad at the limit of viability

In the setting of threatened extreme preterm birth, balancing maternal and fetal risks and benefits in order to choose the best available treatment options is of utmost importance. Inconsistency in treatment practices for infants born between 22 and 24 weeks of gestatotional age may account for inter-hospital variation in survival rates with and without impairment. Most importantly, non-biased and accurate information must be presented to the family as soon as extremely preterm birth is suspected, including counseling on morbidities and mortality associated with delivery at the limits of viability. This review will focus on different therapeutic medical and surgical practices available for threatened extremely preterm birth to improve fetal and maternal outcomes while highlighting the importance of patient-centered approaches.

Risk factors and maternal outcomes following preterm premature rupture of membrane in the second trimester of gestation

PURPOSE

To characterize the population of women who underwent mid-trimester preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM) in a country where mid-trimester abortions are legal and available.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional cohort study was conducted at a tertiary referral hospital, during 2013-2016. Mid-trimester defined as gestational age 13 + 0 to 23 + 6 weeks. Rupture of membrane was defined by documentation of fluid passing through the cervix on sterile speculum examination, and a positive Nitrazine (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ) or erning test. All records were evaluated for medical history, laboratory data, postnatal examination, and autopsy findings, and a database was constructed.

RESULTS

A total of 61 women were hospitalized for mid-trimester PPROM during the study period. Mean maternal age was 32 ± 5.98, range 20-45 years old. The majority (50, 82%) of patients decided to terminate their pregnancy before reaching the limit of viability at 24 weeks gestation. The overall prognosis of pregnancies reaching term was better than expected, with six (9.8%) patients delivering live babies and four of them born at term (36 ± 5 to 40 ± 6 weeks gestation), all after PPROM following amniocentesis or selective fetal reduction. A total of 60% of women with hypothyroidism had unbalanced TSH levels above 4.0 mIU/L prior to their pregnancy. A notable number of women (15, 24.6%) had PPROM following a pregnancy achieved by assisted reproductive technology (ART).

CONCLUSIONS

Most women with diagnosed mid-trimester PPROM opted for pregnancy termination before the limit of viability when granted the choice. Possible risk factors for early PPROM are unbalanced hypothyroidism and ART. PPROM following amniocentesis can in some cases reseal and reach term, suggesting conservative treatment is a reasonable management for those cases.

Cellular immune responses in amniotic fluid of women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes

Background Preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (pPROM) occurs in 30% of preterm births; thus, this complication is a major contributor to maternal and neonatal morbidity. However, the cellular immune responses in amniotic fluid of women with pPROM have not been investigated. Methods Amniotic fluid samples were obtained from women with pPROM and a positive (n = 7) or negative (n = 10) microbiological culture. Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the phenotype and number of amniotic fluid leukocytes. The correlation between amniotic fluid immune cells and an interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration or a white blood cell (WBC) count in amniotic fluid was calculated. Results Women with pPROM and a positive amniotic fluid culture had (1) a greater number of total leukocytes in amniotic fluid, including neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages and (2) an increased number of total T cells in amniotic fluid, namely CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells, but not B cells. The numbers of neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages were positively correlated with IL-6 concentrations and WBC counts in amniotic fluid of women with pPROM. Conclusion Women with pPROM and a positive amniotic fluid culture exhibit a more severe cellular immune response than those with a negative culture, which is associated with well-known markers of intra-amniotic inflammation.