Background: Recent clinical and epidemiological researches indicate that in preterm infants exposed to chorioamnionitis increases the risk of neurological disorders.
Objective: To know the neurological development in prematures newborn whose mothers suffered chorioamnionitis during pregnancy and to compare them with newborns without chorioamnionitis.
Material and method: Is a prospective, comparative, cohort study, which included newborn infants with < 34 weeks of gestacional age and with weight < 1,500 g at birth, born in the Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia from August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2006. Two groups were divided (with and without antecedents of maternal chorioamnionitis), paired by weight and gestacional age, with complete neurological assessment at one year of age with the following instruments: Amiel Tison and Vojta assessment, audiological and prelanguage evaluations.
Results: 104 patients were included; 23 belonged to the group with chorioamnionitis, and 81 to the group without chorioamnionitis. With the Amiel Tison assessment at one year of age we found a major alteration risk in active tone of the exposed children to chorioamnionitis (RR: 3.73, CI 95%: 1.05-13.3). The exploration of Vojta at the year of age was abnormal in the children exposed (RR: 1.64, CI 95%: 1.06-2.53). There were no differences in: hearing assessment, prelanguage skills, electroencephalography, visual and auditory evoked potentials of brain steam.
Conclusions: In the exposed group to chorioamnionitis there were a major number of patients (56.5%) with neurological alterations versus the one without chorioamnionitis (29.6%, RR: 1.90, CI 95%: 1.16-3.11). Motor alterations were found with more frequency in this study.