All issues > Volume 34(2); 1991

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1991;34(2):180-189. Published online February 28, 1991.

A clinical study on influences of premature rupture of membranes in the newborn infant.

Ji Sun Cho¹, Young Sun Ko¹, Soon Ok Byun¹, Ji Sub Oh¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Wallace Memorial Baptist Hospital, Pusan, Korea

Received: August 13, 1990;  Accepted: September 26, 1990.

Abstract

A clinical study was made on 607 newborns of mothers with premature rupture of membrane (PROM group) and 5,775 newborns of mothers without ruptured membrane Baptist Hospital from January 1987 to December 1989. The results are summarized as follows: 1) The overall incidence of PROM was 9.5% with little yearly variations. 2) 11.9% of all babies with PROM were bom prematurely, significantly higher than the incidence of control group (4.1%). 3) The incidence of birth weight below 2500gm in PROM group (12.4%) was significantly higher than in the control group (6%). 4) Twenty-eight percent of term deliveries and fifty-seven percent of preterm deliveries occurred beyond 24 hours after PROM. A positive correlation was found between prematurity and time interval after PROM. 5) Morbidity and mortality incidences in the PROM group were 33% due to sepsis, 5.9% due to asphyxia, 0.8% due to RDS and 3.1% due to neonatal death. 6) The incidence of sepsis in the PROM group (3.3%) was significantly higher than in the control group (0.9%). The incidence was increased proportionally with prematurity and with increasing time after PROM. With respect to etiologic bacteria, S.epidermidis was the most frequently observed in both groups. 7) The incidence of neonatal asphyxia in the PROM group (5.9%) was significantly higher than in the control group (1.6%) and the premature babies had greater incidence in both groups. The incidence after 24 hours was greater than the incidence before 24 hours. 8) Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was found in 0.8% of babies with 0.8% of babies with PROM. Premature babies had a higher incidence of RDS in control and PROM groups, but latter had an incidence amounting to 1/2 of the former. In addition it tended to diminish with increasing time after PROM. 9) Neonatal death was higher in PROM (3.1%) than in the control group (0.8%) and the premature babies had a greater incidence in both groups. This also increased with time after PROM.

Keywords :Premature rupture of membranes;Prematurity;sepsis;Neonatal asphyxia;RDS;Neonatal death