The diagnostic value of CRP, ESR and white blood cell count in the diagnosis of chorioamnionitis in the mothers with premature rupture of membrane

Several laboratory factors such as ESR, CRP and leukocyte count, have been used for the diagnosis of placental membrane infection. However, results of studies on this subject had been different and sometimes controversial. This study was conducted to determine the role of CRP, ESR and leukocyte count in the diagnosis of infection of placental membranes in mothers with premature rupture of membrane. This was a descriptive and analytical observational study. The study population included all patients with premature rupture of membrane before 37 weeks of gestation. Sample size included 70 subjects. Sampling method was census. Data of the eligible patients were extracted from interview and laboratory results. Data were introduced into SPSS software and analyzed by means of T test and if necessary, by X2 and non -parametric tests. This study included 70 patients. None of the patients had history of hypertension before 20 weeks of gestation, hypertension in previous pregnancy and history of drug use. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CRP test for detection of chorioamnionitis were 16.7%, 67.7%, 4.5% and 89.8%, for WBC count 16.7%, 63.1%, 4% and 89.1%; and for ESR 66.7%, 50.8%, 11.1% and 94.3% respectively. The results of this study was compatible with those of the previous studies and showed controversy about the predictive value of CRP for clinical and pathological diagnosis of chorioamnionitis. On the other hand lack of correlation between ESR values and WBC counts with chorioamnionitis which is not compatible with the results of some of the previous studies will reflect the need for future studies with larger sample sizes.