[Bacteriologic findings before and in transcervical chorionic villi biopsy and their clinical relevance]

Between August 1987 and May 1989, bacteriological examinations of smears from the cervical canal was performed in 358 pregnant women, who underwent transcervical sampling of chorionic villi. The outcome of 349 of these pregnancies is documented. 12 of these patients (3.5%) had an artificial abortion for genetic reasons. In 12 other patients, the pregnancy ended before 28 weeks (one child surviving). Microbiological examinations showed that in 187 women (52%), it was possible to culture one or more microorganisms from the cervical canal. The most frequently detected pathogen was Chlamydia trachomatis (111 women, 31%). In pregnancies, where more than one microorganism could be cultured, the risk of following abortion was 8.9 times higher than in those, where no pathogens could be found. In only two of the 12 women with a subsequent spontaneous abortion (16.6%), no microorganism could be found. The bacterial contamination of the cervical canal during TC-CVS seems to be a risk factor for subsequent abortion. Therefore, a bacteriological examination of cervical flora should be performed before as well as during TC-CVS, and antibiotic therapy should be initiated in case of positive results.