Maternal serum and vaginal fluid C-reactive protein levels do not predict early-onset neonatal infection in preterm premature rupture of membranes

Objective:the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of maternal serum and vaginal fluid c-reactive protein (crp) determinations in the prediction of neonatal congenital infection.study design:fifty women between 24 and 36 weeks gestation, complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes (pprom), were divided into two groups according to the presence (n=14) or absence (n=36) of early-onset newborns' infection.result:maternal serum and vaginal fluid crp concentrations were comparable between both groups. serum crp levels ⩾10 and ⩾15 mg l–1 predicted neonatal infection with a sensitivity of 47 and 47%, specificity of 63 and 76%, positive predictive value (ppv) of 38 and 47%, and negative predictive value (npv) of 72 and 76%, respectively. the cutoff value of vaginal crp ⩾2.4 mg l–1 predicted infection with a sensitivity of 71%, specificity of 47%, ppv of 34%, and npv of 81%. receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the predictive performance of crp was poor.conclusion:maternal serum and vaginal fluid crp determinations after pprom are of poor predictive value in neonatal early-onset infection prediction.