Umbilical arterial and venous acid-base and blood gas values and the effect of chorioamnionitis on those values in a cohort of preterm infants.

Umbilical arterial and venous acid-base and blood gas values in uncomplicated premature births are similar to values that are reported in term infants and are unaffected by birth weight or gestational age. In this group of patients chorioamnionitis had no significant effects on umbilical arterial acid-base or blood gas values or on the percentage of patients that were born with acidemia. Apgar scores were significantly lower in the group with chorioamnionitis in spite of a virtual absence of acidemia, which again suggests that low Apgar scores alone do not confirm a diagnosis of birth asphyxia.