C-reactive protein as a marker of infection in women with preterm delivery

There is a strong association between systemic and intrauterine infection and preterm delivery. C-reactive protein (CRP) is considered a nonspecific marker for intrauterine inflammation. We determined its blood level in 100 women who presented with preterm labor and intact membranes and delivered prematurely. CRP levels were used as a noninvasive marker for infection to compare clinical characteristics between women who delivered prematurely at 31-36 and 24-30 weeks of gestation. Women who delivered earlier than the 24th week of gestation had a higher rate of positive CRP levels than those who delivered later, 54% vs 24%, respectively (p < 0.0001). Moreover, women from the lower gestational age group with positive CRP levels had significantly different clinical characteristics than those in the same group but with negative CRP levels. There was a significant difference between Jewish and Bedouin women in cervical dilatation and time interval from hospitalization to delivery between those with positive CRP and those with negative CRP levels. We conclude that patients who delivered prematurely at 24-30 weeks had higher rates of an inflammatory etiology than women who also delivered prematurely, but at a more advanced gestational age.