title: Duration of labor and risk of cerebral white-matter damage in very preterm infants who are delivered with intrauterine infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess whether the duration of labor has any effect on the occurrence of cerebral white-matter damage in very preterm infants who are delivered in the presence of intrauterine infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a cohort of infants who were born spontaneously at <32 weeks of gestation for whom placental information was available and who survived 7 days from birth, 126 infants had clinical, laboratory, or histologic evidence of intrauterine infection. Among them, variables were compared between those infants with white-matter damage (defined as intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3 plus, periventricular leukomalacia, or ventriculomegaly not associated with hydrocephaly [n = 13]) and those infants without it (n = 113). Comparisons were made with t test, chi-squared test, and survival analysis; a probability value of <.05 was considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences between the 2 groups in gestational age at delivery and rates of labor or cesarean delivery. Duration of active labor (66 +/- 45 minutes vs 88 +/- 75 minutes; P =.49) and of clinical chorioamnionitis (310 +/- 186 minutes vs 529 +/- 544 minutes; P =.44) were similar in cases with and without neonatal white-matter damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In 126 infants who were born at <32 weeks of gestation with intrauterine infection, we found no correlation between the duration of labor or clinical chorioamnionitis and neonatal white-matter damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy. anna.locatelli@unimib.it
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Locatelli
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vergani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghidini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Assi
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonardi
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pezzullo
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paterlini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002821:Chorioamnionitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors