• Franziska Leutsch and Anastasia Solovieva.
• Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA. fl20bn@med.fsu.edu.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2024 Apr 1; 193 (2): 791796791-796.

BackgroundHistological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is a pathological condition defined as an acute inflammation of the amniochorionic membranes which has been linked to a wide range of adverse neonatal events.AimThe purpose of this study is to identify the incidence of HCA in the rural population and evaluate whether there are significant differences in these incidences within the different clinical parameters of delivery method, gravidity, gestational age, previous cesarean section, reason for cesarean section and body mass index (BMI).MethodsA retrospective chart review was conducted on 462 consecutive deliveries that occurred in a rural hospital during a four-year period. Data collected was analyzed using independent sample T-tests, chi-squared tests, and descriptive statistics, with a p-value of < 0.05.ResultsOverall incidence of HCA was 15.9% (73/459), with a term incidence of 16.2% (68/421) and preterm incidence of 13.2% (5/38). The incidence of HCA was significantly higher in vaginal deliveries (18.8%; n = 54/288) than C-section deliveries (11.1%; n = 19/171) (p = 0.03). Incidence of clinical chorioamnionitis was 0.43% (2/462), with 2.74% (2/73) of HCA manifesting clinically.ConclusionsEvaluation of the incidence of HCA and associated clinical parameters in this study showed a marked decrease in the incidence of HCA when compared to other studies. Strategies to reduce the incidence of HCA include reducing the length of labor via active labor management. We hypothesize that these findings are due to the consistent use of active labor management and our rural study population, but further investigation is required to confirm this.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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