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Updated: May 20, 2026

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
Published on: June 24, 2020
Relationship between the neonatal white blood cell count and histologic chorioamnionitis in preterm newborns
Vincenzo Zanardo1, Carla Peruzzetto, Daniele Trevisanuto
1Department of Pediatrics, Padua University, Via Giustiniani 3 35128 Padua, Italy. vincenzo.zanardo@libero.it
Objective:
The aim was to examine the relationship between neonatal white blood cell (WBC) count and the diagnosis of histologic chorioamnionitis (HCA).
Design:
We measured WBC, a widely used marker of inflammation, to evaluate whether the values at birth were associated with HCA.
Setting:
NICU, Department of Pediatrics of Padua University, Padua, Italy.
Subjects:
WBC count was evaluated in 71 preterm neonates (<32 weeks of gestation) with HCA and in a control group without HCA on day 1, 3, and 6 after delivery. Logistic regression analysis and diagnostic accuracy analysis were used to assess the association between WBC counts and HCA.
Main Results:
WBC levels were significantly higher in infants with HCA than in those without HCA (Median IQR, WBC (x10(9)/l): day 1, 13.2 (6.2-21.8) vs 8.1 (6-11.4), p < 0.001; day 3, 17.4 (11.4-26.9) vs 6.3 (5.2-8.3), p < 0.001; day 6, 18.4 (11.1-31) vs 6.5 (4.4-9), p < 0.0001). The neonatal WBC count on the third day of life was the most sensitive parameter associated with HCA (sensitivity: 0.80; specificity: 0.88). The cut-off value based on the ROC curve was 10 (x10(9)/l).
Conclusions:
WBC count in the third day of life is strongly associated with HCA.
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