Comparison of umbilical cord interleukin-6 in preterm infants with premature rupture of membranes and intact membranes.

OBJECTIVE To compare inflammatory mediators in the cord blood of premature newborn infants with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and intact membranes. METHODS Eighty-nine premature neonates with gestational age of 27-34 weeks that delivered in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran from June 2005 to March 2006 were enrolled in a prospective observational study, and their umbilical cord plasma was collected at birth. They were allocated into 2 groups (45 patients with PROM, and 44 neonates with intact membranes). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured in cord plasma by the enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) method. RESULTS Mean cord plasma IL-6 levels in preterm neonates with PROM was 205.71 pg/ml, and in neonates with intact membranes was 33.3 pg/ml for IL-6 (p=0.000). The mean cord blood CRP level in newborns with PROM was 10.2 microgram/ml, and in those with intact membranes was 1.6 microgram/ml (p=0.41). Early onset sepsis was more frequent in infants with PROM than premature infants with intact membrane (38% versus 10%, p=0.001). In neonates with PROM, the mean cord blood IL-6 level was significantly higher in septic newborns (414.28 verus 40.44 pg/ml, p=0.000). CONCLUSION The premature newborn infants with PROM had increased IL-6 levels in cord blood, which was significantly higher in neonates that developed early onset sepsis.