title: Low blood pressure among very-low-birth-weight infants with fetal vessel inflammation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that fetal vessel inflammation (FVI: funisitis and/or fetal vasculitis) is associated with lower blood pressure (BP) over the first week of life and an increased risk of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) among premature infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 255 infants born at <1350 g to normotensive mothers were stratified by gestational age (GA) and grouped by presence/absence of FVI on placental pathology. Daily highest (Hi) and lowest (Lo) systolic BP (BP(sys)), mean BP (BP(mn)) and diastolic BP (BP(dia)) over first 7 days of life were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA and regression analysis. Cranial ultrasounds were obtained at 2 weeks of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infants > or =30 weeks gestation with FVI had lower HiBP(sys), HiBP(mn), HiBP(dia), LoBP(sys), LoBP(mn) and LoBP(dia) (p<0.001) than did infants without FVI. Infants with PVL (all < or =27 weeks gestation) had lower LoBP(mn) and LoBP(dia) (p<0.01) than controls. FVI did not increase the risk of PVL in these infants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FVI and PVL are associated with reduced BP over the first week of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Magee-Womens Research Institute, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Toby Debra
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Yanowitz
authors.forename: Robyn Wyman
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: James Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Beverly Sobchak
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Brozanski
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014469:Umbilical Arteries; D014471:Umbilical Veins; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000503:physiopathology*