Medical College of Wisconsin
The AMNIO-BRAIN Trial is a research study looking at whether a simple treatment during labor can help protect a baby's brain. Some newborns develop a condition called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which happens when the brain does not get enough oxygen or blood flow. This can lead to serious health problems, including developmental delays and lifelong disabilities. While there is a cooling treatment after birth that can help, it starts only after delivery and may come too late to prevent the earliest stages of injury. Research suggests that some brain injury may actually begin during labor, especially when there is an infection in the uterus called chorioamnionitis. This infection can cause inflammation and fever in the mother, which may increase stress on the baby and affect the baby's brain. This study is testing whether a commonly used labor procedure called amnioinfusion can help. Amnioinfusion involves placing fluid similar to your biologic amniotic fluid into the uterus during labor. It is already used safely in many deliveries for other reasons. In prior research, this treatment slightly lowered the temperature inside the uterus and improved signs that the baby was no longer under stress. In this study, 80 pregnant subjects with chorioamnionitis will be randomly assigned to receive amnioinfusion during labor or receive standard care without amnioinfusion. All patients will continue to receive normal treatment for infection. After delivery, researchers will collect a small sample of blood from the umbilical cord. This blood will be tested for markers that can show whether the baby may have experienced stress or injury to the brain.
The AMNIO-BRAIN Trial is designed to investigate whether intrapartum amnioinfusion, administered during labor, for patients with clinical chorioamnionitis can reduce molecular biomarkers of neonatal brain injury at birth. This study builds upon pilot randomized trial data demonstrating that room-temperature amnioinfusion lowers intrauterine temperature and is associated with reductions in umbilical artery lactate, a validated marker of anaerobic metabolism and tissue injury. Current understanding of neonatal brain injury suggests that neurologic injury evolves through several biologic phases.…
Inclusion Criteria: * Maternal age ≥18 years * Singleton gestation * Gestational age ≥36 weeks * Labor at time of enrollment * Clinical chorioamnionitis or intra-amniotic infection defined according to ACOG criteria, including: Maternal temperature ≥38.0°C At least one associated clinical finding, including: * 1\. Maternal leukocytosis * 2\. Purulent cervical drainage * 3\. Fetal tachycardia * Cervical dilation sufficient for intrauterine pressure catheter placement * Ability to provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Multifetal gestation * Known major fetal anomaly * Contraindicatio…
Standardized room temperature amnioinfusion consisting of a 500mL bolus of (24°C) lactated ringer's infused over 30 minutes through an intrauterine pressure catheter (IUPC), followed by a continuous maintenance infusion of 125 mL/hour. Infusion continues until 1L is infused or delivery occurs.
Route obstetric care at the discretion of delivery provider.