Endometritis after cesarean: the effect of age.

In this study, we compared the rate of endometritis after cesarean section in two age groups. The first group consisted of patients who were 17 years old or younger (teenage group) and the second group of patients were 35 years of age or older (advanced maternal age group). Patients in each group were matched for length of labor, length of rupture of membranes, and the use of prophylactic antibiotics. In the teenage group, 18 of 41 (43.9%) developed endometritis compared with 6 of 41 (14.6%) in the advanced maternal age group (P < 0.003). This study supports the concept that young age is a risk factor for endometritis after cesarean section.