(569) The Impact of Peripartum Fever on Long-Term Neurological Morbidity in Offspring

Thursday, January 30, 2025

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Submitting Author and Presenting Author(s)

NH

Narkis Hermon, MD

Soroka Medical Hospital
Soroka Medical Center, HaDarom, Israel

Coauthor(s)

Omri Zamstein, MD (he/him/his)

Physician
Soroka University Medical Center
Soroka University Medical Center, HaDarom, Israel
Tamar Wainstock, PhD (she/her/hers)

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Beer Sheva, HaDarom, Israel
Eyal Sheiner, MD, PhD

Head of department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Beer Sheva, HaDarom, Israel

Objective: Peripartum fever, resulting from various infectious and non-infectious causes, can lead to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. This study explores the potential long-term neurological effects of peripartum fever on the offspring.

Study Design: A population-based cohort analysis was conducted at a tertiary referral hospital to assess the incidence of neurological conditions in the offspring—encompassing both hospital and community-based diagnoses—based on the presence of peripartum fever. Kaplan-Meier survival curves evaluated the cumulative incidence of morbidity, while Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for confounding factors.

Results: In this study involving 232,476 deliveries, 1,728 (0.7%) were associated with peripartum fever. Compared to the group without fever, those with peripartum fever exhibited significantly higher incidences of hypertensive disorders (9.5% vs. 4.6%), preterm births (15.7% vs. 7.0%), non-reassuring fetal heart rate patterns (17.7% vs. 5.4%), and cesarean deliveries (47.0% vs. 13.8%; Table). Although overall neurological morbidity in the offspring was somewhat higher in the fever group (19.6% vs. 17.4%, p=0.018), there was no notable difference in the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (0.3% vs. 0.5%, p=0.62). Additionally, the Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant difference in the overall neurological morbidity (Log-rank p-value=0.899; Figure). Following adjustments for maternal age and gestational age at birth, there was no significant association between peripartum fever and long-term neurological outcomes in the offspring (adjusted HR=0.95, 95% CI 0.85–1.06, p=0.35; Table).

Conclusion: Peripartum fever is linked to increased rates of obstetric complications; however, it does not significantly impact long-term neurological outcomes in offspring.