Cord blood cytokine levels in neonates born to mothers with prolonged premature rupture of membranes and its relationship with morbidity and mortality.

The purpose of this study was to determine cord blood cytokine levels and their relationship with morbidity and mortality in neonates with prolonged, premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). Forty two premature neonates of 29-35 weeks gestational age with PPROM exceeding 24 hours were considered as the PPROM group and simultaneously, 41 premature neonates without PPROM were considered as the control group. All the neonates were admitted to the Neonatology Unit for further evaluation of subsequent complications such as early neonatal sepsis, pneumonia, intraventicular haemorrhage (IVH), respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and chronic lung disease (CLD).