Predicting previable preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPPROM) before 24 weeks: maternal and fetal/neonatal risk factors for survival.

We sought to compare maternal and neonatal risk factors in cases with previable premature rupture of membranes (pPPROM, between 14-24 weeks) for optimal counselling. Therefore, 192 pregnancies of 485 cases which met selection criteria and agreed to follow-up were retrospectively analysed. Mean gestational age at pPPROM was 20.45 weeks. Live births occurred in 171 cases, but 67 (39.2%) of them died in the neonatal period (neonatal death group) and 104 cases (60.8%) constituted surviving neonate group. Of the surviving neonates, 37 (33.7%) experienced at least one complication. Most seen maternal complications were chorioamnionitis (24.48%) and placental abruption (8.33%). Although amniotic fluid volume, length of pPPROM period, completing antibiotherapy and CRP values were significant, amniotic fluid volume and length of pPPROM showed also significance for multivariate regression analysis for maternal risk factors. Risk factors for birth were gestational age at pPPROM, gestational age at birth, new-born weight at birth, 1st and 5th minute Apgar scores, umbilical cord pH value and need for neonatal resuscitation. Furthermore, development of respiratory distress syndrome, necrotising enterocolitis, intraventricular haemorrhage and retinopathy of premature were additional risk factors for neonate. Of them, gestational age at birth, new-born weight at birth, respiratory distress syndrome and retinopathy of prematurity were also significant in multivariate regression analysis.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? Management of previable premature rupture of membranes is controversial and there is no definite consensus on the approach. The factor that best predicts neonatal survival is the gestational age at birth (Deutsch et al. 2010).What do the results of this study add? Appropriate counselling for pPPROM cases is important especially during antenatal period (maternal factors) and postpartum period (neonatal factors). Maternal infection risk is increased with an increased latency period of PPROM. As the gestational age at birth increases, the survival rate increases and neonatal complication rates decrease. Other important determinants of neonatal survival and well-being are the presence of oligo-anhydramnios and latency period of previable PPROM to delivery.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Counselling the patient with previable PPROM about pregnancy complications and paediatric outcome is challenging because of the small size, different gestational age ranges, and retrospective nature of the multiple studies on this subject. The most important feature of our study was the relatively high number of patients compared to other series. Thus, we can counsel pregnant women with PPROM prior to 24 weeks of gestation about the maternal antenatal factors and neonatal postnatal factors with related outcomes and help make an informed decision regarding termination or conservative follow-up. Nevertheless, there is a need for larger multicentric prospective studies to validate our data and to establish the prognosis of previable PPROM for both mother and foetus.