Bacterial isolates from patients with preterm labor with and without preterm rupture of the fetal membranes.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to describe the bacterial flora of women in preterm labor with or without premature rupture of membranes. METHODS Retrospective studies of 239 patients with preterm labor were performed. RESULTS One hundred and twenty-three of 239 patients with preterm labor (51.5%) had bacterial vaginosis. Seventy of the 239 patients with preterm labor (29.3%) developed premature rupture of the membranes (preterm PROM). Of the 70 patients with preterm PROM, 51 (72.9%) had bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, 51 of the 123 patients with bacterial vaginosis (41.5%) developed preterm PROM. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor was associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor complicated with bacterial vaginosis was significantly associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test. CONCLUSIONS In preterm labor, the number of different species detected in the vagina provide sensitive and specific prediction of preterm PROM in patients with preterm labor.