To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Infections in Amniotic Fluid May Cause Premature Birth, More Than Previously Thought URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/229F56.htm Doctor's Guide August 26, 2008
STANFORD, Calif -- August 26, 2008 -- Previously unrecognised and unidentified infections of amniotic fluid may be a significant cause of premature birth, according to a study published in the August 26 issue of PLoS ONE. An analysis of amniotic fluid from women in preterm labour indicated that 15% of the fluid samples harboured bacteria or fungi, an increase of 50% over previous estimates. "If we could prevent these infections in the first place, or detect them sooner, we might one day be able to prevent some of these premature births," said first author Dan DiGiulio, MD, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California. "To find that this amniotic compartment, which we have traditionally viewed as somewhat sacrosanct, is infected significantly more often than we thought is a little shocking," said senior author David Relman, MD, Stanford University Medical Center. Previous analyses of the same samples using a different, more conventional method had concluded that only about 10% were infected. DiGiulio and colleagues used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to track down micro-organisms in amniotic fluid samples collected from 166 women in preterm labour at the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan, between October 1998 and December 2002. Of the women, 113 went on to deliver their infants prematurely. Although not all of these women were infected, microbial invasion is thought to contribute significantly to the overall number of preterm births. PCR and laboratory cultures were used to determine that 25 of the 166 samples were infected with either bacteria or fungi. In addition, 17 bacterial and 1 fungal species were identified in the positive samples -- exceeding the 11 species found by conventional analysis. The investigation also turned up a novel micro-organism that may represent a previously unknown species. The researchers found that all the women in labour whose samples were positive by either PCR or by culture delivered their infants prematurely. In addition, all those who were positive by both methods delivered their babies within 1 day of the initial fluid collection. Women who were positive by only 1 method (68%) delivered within the same time period. In addition, 27% of samples from infected women who delivered their infants before 25 weeks' gestation were positive only by PCR, yet cultures from these samples falsely indicated they were not infected. The authors are now collaborating on a much larger study of fluid collected during routine amniocenteses at about the 20th week of pregnancy. They hope to determine whether infections can be detected before the onset of preterm labour, which could lead to new prevention or treatment strategies. SOURCE: Stanford University Medical Center --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.