PURPOSE: Regardless of premature rupture of membranes, the genital colonization of Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu) in pregnant women could transmit vertical infections of their babies and cause neonatal infections, which ultimately result in infections in many other organs. The purpose of this study is to determine clinical influences on the infants born from mothers suffering genital Uu colonization. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data for analysis of the 219 infants born from mothers who had been tested for genital Uu culture (about 470 cases) for past 3 years from Mar. 2006 to Jun. 2009, in East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyunghee University. The neonatal clinical manifestations such as duration of tachypnea, incidence of oxygen therapy, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), sepsis, jaundice, feeding intolerance, etc. were investigated during gestational period. RESULTS: In case of positive genital Uu culture of mothers, the preterm infants (gestational period <35 weeks) had symptoms of increased heart rate within 6 hours after birth, prolonged tachypnea, short period of antibiotics use, and lower incidence of RDS and hypocalcemia. Durations of oxygen therapy, the methods and durations of positive pressure ventilation and incidences of BPD of preterm infants were not affected by maternal Uu results. The near and full term infants (gestational period > or =35 weeks) from Uu positive mothers showed the increased incidence of jaundice. CONCLUSION: It is hard to say that genital Uu colonization in pregnant women influence the near and full term infants except jaundice. However, the data analysis of the preterm infants from Uu mothers demonstrated increased heart rate within 6 hours after birth, prolonged tachypnea, short period of antibiotics use, lower incidence of RDS and hypocalcemia.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; Colon ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Jaundice ; Membranes ; Mothers ; Oxygen ; Parturition ; Positive-Pressure Respiration ; Pregnant Women ; Respiratory Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture ; Sepsis ; Statistics as Topic ; Stress, Psychological ; Tachypnea ; Ureaplasma ; Ureaplasma urealyticum