Value of Vaginal Fluid Proinflammatory Cytokines for the Prediction of Early-Onset Neonatal Infection in Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes

The usefulness of vaginal fluid proinflammatory cytokine assays in the prediction of neonatal congenital infection was evaluated. Sixty-two women between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy, complicated by premature rupture of the membranes, were divided into those who delivered newborns with (n = 21) and without (n = 41) signs of infection. Concentrations of all studied cytokines were higher in women who delivered babies with infection. The cutoff values of interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-1β ≥ 400, IL-6 ≥ 2000, and IL-8 ≥ 2100 pg/mL predicted infection with a sensitivity of 57%, 57%, 33%, and 76%, a specificity of 73%, 73%, 93%, and 59%, a positive predictive value of 52%, 52%, 70%, and 48%, and a negative predictive value of 77%, 77%, 73%, and 83%, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the predictive performance of the four studied cytokines was comparable. In conclusion, vaginal fluid cytokines after premature rupture of the membranes have moderately predictive value of whether or not a neonate will develop early sepsis.