Chorioamnionitis, a known risk factor for fetal and neonatal morbidity both in preterm and term newborns, is often subclinical. Earlier observations have linked skin colourimetry to neonatal illness severity and adverse neonatal outcome. Here, we tested the hypothesis that subclinical histological chorioamnionitis is associated with early postnatal skin colour changes in term newborns. Skin colourimetry on ten body sites (forehead, cheek, forearm, palm, upper chest, abdomen, back, buttock, leg, and sole) was examined in 45 term infants with subclinical histological chorioamnionitis and 45 sex- and gestational age-matched controls, using a tristimulus portable colourimeter at 1, 5 and 10 min after birth. Infants with subclinical histological chorioamnionitis showed statistically significant early postnatal skin colourimetric differences, in nine and seven out of the ten body sites examined as compared to control newborns at 1 min (P< or =0.0092), 5 min (P< or =0.0081) and 10 min (P< or =0.0056) from birth, respectively. Skin colourimetry changes were associated with lower 1 min Apgar scores (P<0.0001), cord blood pH (P<0.0001), PaO2 (P<0.0001), and base excess (P<0.0001) values, together with higher cord blood PaCO2 (P=0.0001), NICU admissions (P=0.00076), endotracheal intubation in the delivery room (P=0.012), Neonatal Acute Physiology-Perinatal Extension (P<0.0001) and Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (P<0.0001) scores than the chorioamnionitis-negative infants.
Conclusion: These findings, compatible with early peripheral microcirculatory changes, indicate skin vasoconstriction as an early neonatal manifestation of subclinical chorioamnionitis.