Preeclampsia is an independent risk factor for spontaneous intestinal perforation in very preterm infants.

Background: Spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) is an important surgical emergency in preterm infants.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of maternal preeclampsia on development of SIP in premature infants.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study in a large tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Subjects: The preterm infants of ≤32 weeks of gestational age and birthweight ≤1500 g who were hospitalized were enrolled.

Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was to determine the association between preeclampsia and SIP.

Results: A total of 22 infants had SIP diagnosis. The incidence of SIP in infants born to preeclamptic mothers (6.2%) was significantly higher compared with those born to normotensive mothers (0.2%). In multinominal logistic regression model, preeclampsia was found to be an independent risk factor of SIP with an odds ratio of 13.5 (95% confidence interval 2.82-65.1).

Conclusions: Maternal preeclampsia seemed to be an independent risk factor for development of SIP in premature infants.