Detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum in second-trimester amniotic fluid by polymerase chain reaction correlates with subsequent preterm labor and delivery. J Infect Dis

Ureaplasma urealyticum is the microorganism most frequent-ly isolated from the amniotic fluid of women in preterm la-bor. The relationship between intra-amniotic U. urealyticum in healthy second-trimester pregnant women and subsequentpreg-nancy outcome was investigated. Transabdominal amnioticfluid obtained from 254 asymptomatic women at 15–17 weeks ’ ges-tation were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). U. urea-lyticum was identified in 29 subjects (11.4%). A subsequent preterm labor occurred in 17 U. urealyticum–positive women (58.6%), compared with 10 (4.4%) U. urealyticum–negative women (). Preterm birth was documented in 7 (24.1%)P!.0001 U. urealyticum–positive women compared with only 1 U. urea-lyticum–negative woman (0.4%) (). U. urealyticum–P!.0001 positive women also had a higher prevalence of preterm labor in a prior pregnancy (20.7%) than did the negative wome