Midpregnancy genitourinary tract infection with Chlamydia trachomatis.

Title
Midpregnancy genitourinary tract infection with Chlamydia trachomatis: association with subsequent preterm delivery in women with bacterial vaginosis and Trichomonas vaginalis.
Source
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 194(2):493-500, 2006 Feb.



OBJECTIVE:
The objective of the study was to estimate whether midpregnancy genitourinary tract infection with Chlamydia trachomatis is associated with an increased risk of subsequent preterm delivery.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection remains the most common sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen in the United States and is the most common infectious disease notification to state health departments. In almost every state, C. trachomatis infection remains greater than the Healthy People 2010 objective of 3.0%. The results of investigations of the association between genital tract C. trachomatis infection with subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery have been mixed. Some reports have linked the presence of maternal chlamydia infection with low birth weight, preterm birth, premature rupture of the membranes, and even an increased risk of perinatal death. We recently reported a case-control study in which genitourinary C. trachomatis infection at 24 weeks' gestation was associated with a 2-fold to 3-fold increased risk of subsequent preterm birth prior to 37 weeks' gestation. However, this association with adverse pregnancy outcomes is not a universal finding.

CONCLUSION:

In this secondary analysis, midtrimester chlamydia infection was not associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. Treatment of chlamydia was not associated with a decreased frequency of preterm birth.