Alanen A
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Turku.
Ann Med. 1998 Jun;30(3):288-95. doi: 10.3109/07853899809005857.
Intra-amniotic infection during pregnancy can be caused by bacteria, viruses or protozoa, Toxoplasma gondii for example. Bacterial intrauterine infections are connected with premature birth, premature rupture of fetal membranes, and infective complications of both the mother and the newborn. Viral infections and Toxoplasma gondii can cause fetal malformations and illness with serious sequelae to the infant or fetal death in utero. Determining the causative agent is important and often greatly affects the prognosis of the newborn. Amniotic fluid is in most cases easily and safely obtainable during the second and third trimester and can be used in several microbiological assays. These include bacterial and viral cultures, Gram staining, quantitative assays for immunoglobulins or cytokines, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting microbial DNA. This review concentrates on broad-spectrum or universal bacterial PCR for detection of bacterial DNA in amniotic fluid and on PCR assays for certain clinically important viruses and for Toxoplasma gondii.
孕期羊膜腔内感染可由细菌、病毒或原生动物引起，例如弓形虫。细菌性宫内感染与早产、胎膜早破以及母婴的感染性并发症有关。病毒感染和弓形虫可导致胎儿畸形以及疾病，给婴儿带来严重后遗症或导致胎儿宫内死亡。确定病原体很重要，且常常极大地影响新生儿的预后。在妊娠中期和晚期的大多数情况下，羊水很容易且安全地获取，可用于多种微生物检测。这些检测包括细菌和病毒培养、革兰氏染色、免疫球蛋白或细胞因子定量检测以及用于检测微生物DNA的聚合酶链反应（PCR）。本综述着重于用于检测羊水中细菌DNA的广谱或通用细菌PCR，以及用于某些临床重要病毒和弓形虫的PCR检测。
