Outcomes of pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes occurring before 24 weeks of gestation: An 11-year observational study.

Objective: This study describes the fetal and neonatal outcomes and their predictive factors in pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) before 24 weeks of gestation.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using the patient database of a tertiary university hospital in Lyon, France. All of the medical data of women diagnosed with PPROM before 24 weeks of gestation from 2008 to 2018 were extracted. R software was used for descriptive and analytical statistics.

Results: The study included 78 women. Mean gestational age (GA) at PPROM was 19.6 weeks (13.1 to 23.9 weeks). Fifteen (19.2%) pregnancies were terminated, 37 (47.4%) resulted in intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), and 26 (33.3%) children were born alive at an average of 26.9 weeks of gestation. Fourteen children survived and 12 died after birth; 50% of survivors had pulmonary hypoplasia. Within 7 days after PPROM, 46% of IUFD occurred and 36% of pregnancies ended. PPROM before 20 weeks of gestation and chorioamnionitis are statistically associated with IUFD, whereas a latency period of more than 2 weeks is statistically related to live birth.

Conclusions: PPROM before 24 weeks of gestation is associated with a high rate of IUFD, preterm birth, and postpartum mortality.