The relationship of Ureaplasma urealyticum cervical colonization and preterm delivery in high-risk pregnancies

Abstract Objective: To determine whether cervical colonization with Ureaplasma urealyticum is associated with preterm delivery in a high-risk clinic population. Methods: Patients from the high-risk clinic at Saint Peter’s University Hospital from December 1997 to June 1999 with history of preterm delivery (PTD), preterm labor, second- trimester loss, or fetal demise served as the study population. Cervical cultures for Ureaplasma (UR) were obtained at the first prenatal visit, and patients were divided into groups based on results. Patients with positive UR served as the study group and were compared with noncolonized patients. All patients with positive cultures were treated. Age, gravidity, parity, number of prenatal visits, gestational age (GA) at first visit, weight gain, drug use, smoking, antibiotic therapy, use of aspirin, use of aspirin and heparin, cerclage, and GA at delivery were the variables collected. The outcome variable was PTD, which was defined as delivery between 24 and 37 weeks of gestation. Significance was set as P less than 0.05. Results: A total of 100 patients met the inclusion criteria. Positive cultures were found in 69% (69/100) of the patients. UR cervical colonization was not significantly associated with PTD. There were no significant differences between groups for the maternal variables studied. Conclusion: In this high-risk clinic population, antibiotic therapy for UR cervical colonization at the first prenatal care visit did not reduce the risk for preterm delivery.