Is midtrimester short cervix a sign of intraamniotic inflammation?

Objective: We sought to determine the relationship between the degree of cervical shortening and intraamniotic inflammation in patients presenting with a midtrimester short cervix.

Study Design: Amniocentesis was performed on singleton pregnancies between 16-24 weeks' gestation with a sonographic cervical length (CL)
Results: In all, 109 amniotic fluid samples were analyzed. Most (21 of 25) cytokines were inversely correlated to CL. Monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 was the most significant by stepwise regression. Using a cutoff of MCP-1 > 1500 pg/mL, CL of 5 mm had an 86% sensitivity, 85% specificity, 58% positive predictive value, and 96% negative predictive value to predict elevated MCP-1 levels. After excluding patients with intraamniotic infection or labor, findings were similar.

Conclusion: CL

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2009.01.047	DOI Listing