Positive vaginal culture at rescue cerclage predicts subsequent preterm delivery.
OBJECTIVE
This retrospective case-control study is aimed to extract predictors of preterm delivery after rescue cerclage.


METHODS
We collected the data from all the pregnant women who underwent rescue cerclage before 26+0gestational weeks at our facility between July 2006 and July 2016. These women were divided into "delivery at <34 weeks" group (n = 12) and "delivery at ≥34 weeks" group (n = 12). Multiple factors that had been detected at the time of cerclage were compared between these two groups.


RESULTS
"Gestational weeks at cerclage ≥23" and "positive vaginal culture at cerclage" were significantly more prevalent in the "delivery at <34 weeks" group than in the "delivery at ≥34 weeks" group. "Prolapsed membranes at cerclage" tended to be more prevalent in the "delivery at <34 weeks" group than in the "delivery at ≥34 weeks" group. "Positive vaginal culture at cerclage" was the only independent risk factor associated with eventual preterm delivery before 34 gestational weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
Simple aerobic bacterial culture of the vaginal swab sampled at the time of cerclage could be used as a reliable test to predict subsequent preterm delivery before 34 gestational weeks.
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Shota
S
Kanbayashi
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Yukiyasu
Y
Sato
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Atsuko
A
Taga
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Yumiko
Y
Satake
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Ikuko
I
Emoto
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Shunsuke
S
Maruyama
a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Otsu Red Cross Hospital , Otsu , Japan.
Tomoko
T
Kim
D000328:Adult; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D023802:Cerclage, Cervical; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D002581:Uterine Cervical Incompetence / Q000601:surgery; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*
Bacterial vaginosis; cervical cerclage; cervical incompetence; cervical insufficiency; emergency cerclage