Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical characteristics of intrauterine infection in parturients with fever during childbirth and the diagnostic value of microRNA (miR) -182, white blood cell count (WBC), procalcitonin (PCT) and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP).
METHODS A total of 99 parturients with intrapartum fever combined with intrauterine infection treated in Zhoushan Women and Children′s Hospital from Jan. 2021 to Jan. 2023 were selected as the study group, and another 116 parturients with intrapartum fever and non-intrauterine infection were selected as control. Clinical data and pregnancy outcomes of the two groups and the distribution of pathogenic bacteria in intrauterine infection were analyzed. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to detect serum levels of miR-182, PCT, LBP and peripheral blood WBC, respectively, which were compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of the four combined indices.
RESULTS A total of 107 strains of pathogenic bacteria were found in the study group, including Escherichia coli (27 strains, 25.23%), Streptococcus agalactiae (20 strains, 18.69%), cytomegalovirus (17 strains, 15.89%) and Candida albicans (16 strains, 14.95%). The incidences of perinatal brain injury, neonatal death, intrauterine infection, intrauterine pneumonia and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of miR-182, PCT, LBP and WBC in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the four indices combined was higher than that of the index alone (P < 0.05), with the sensitivity 82.70% and specificity 88.30%.
CONCLUSIONS Most cases of intrauterine infection in women with fever during childbirth are infected with E. coli, S. agalactiae, cytomegalovirus and C. albicans, which can affect the pregnancy outcomes. The levels of miR-182, WBC, PCT and LBP are high after intrauterine infection, and their combination is helpful for the diagnosis of intrauterine infection in parturients with intrapartum fever.