Objective: To test the hypothesis that increasing severity of the fetal inflammatory response (FIR) would have a dose-dependent relationship with severe neurodevelopmental impairment or death in extremely preterm infants.
Study design: We report 347 infants of 23-28 weeks gestational age admitted to a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit between 2006 and 2008. The primary outcome was death or neurodevelopmental impairment at the 18- to 22-month follow-up. Exposure status was defined by increasing stage of funisitis (stage 1, phlebitis; stage 2, arteritis with or without phlebitis; stage 3, subacute necrotizing funisitis) and severity of chorionic plate vasculitis (inflammation with or without thrombosis).
Results: A FIR was detected in 110 placentas (32%). The rate of severe neurodevelopmental impairment/death was higher in infants with subacute necrotizing funisitis compared with infants without placental/umbilical cord inflammation (60% vs 35%; P < .05). Among infants with stage 1 or 2 funisitis, the presence of any chorionic vasculitis was associated with a higher rate of severe neurodevelopmental impairment/death (47% vs 23%; P < .05). After adjustment for confounding factors, only subacute necrotizing funisitis (risk ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.04-3.35; P = .04) and chorionic plate vasculitis with thrombosis (risk ratio, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.10-4.46; P = .03) were associated with severe neurodevelopmental impairment/death.
Conclusion: Severe FIR, characterized by subacute necrotizing funisitis and severe chorionic plate vasculitis with thrombosis, is associated with severe neurodevelopmental impairment/death in preterm infants.
Keywords: Adjusted risk ratio; BSID III; Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition; FIR; Fetal inflammatory response; HCA; Histological chorioamnionitis; IVH; Intraventricular hemorrhage; RR; Risk ratio; aRR.
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