Correlation of myometrial thickness and the latency interval of women with preterm premature rupture of the membranes.

OBJECTIVE

To verify the hypothesis that a correlation exists between myometrial thickness (MT) and latency interval (LI) in patients with preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM).

METHOD: Myometrial thickness was measured ultrasonographically at the mid-anterior (MA), fundal, and posterior parts of the uterus of pregnant women in the following groups: PPROM [n = 45, mean (range), gestational age (GA): 28.6 weeks (w) (24.0-33.0 w)], preterm nonlabor control group (P-CTR) [n = 20, GA: 29.5 w (25.0-32.0 w)] and term nonlabor control (T-CTR) [n = 27, GA: 38.4 w (37.0-41.0 w)].

RESULTS

There was a positive correlation between LI and fundal MT (r = 0.34, P = 0.02), mid-MT (r = 0.47, P = 0.001) and LUS (r = 0.74, P = 0.001). The results were similar in the group of <30 w of GA, but in the group of ≥ 30 w of GA, there was no association. The LUS MT has more area under the ROC curve than MA MT and fundal MT for prediction of LI of ≤ 8 days.

CONCLUSION

Significant positive correlation between LI and MT in patients with PPROM may result in a better decision for taking care of infants of preterm birth.