Relationship between Ureaplasma in gastric fluid of neonates with respiratory distress and chorioamnionitis. human metagenome

For neonates hospitalized to the neonatal intensive care unit, respiratory distress is common. Infectious disorder may causes the disease although pathogens in are often unable to be diagnosed. Neonates with respiratory distress were prospectively recruited. Microbial DNA in plasma and gastric fluid samples were analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS). The human genome sequences were excluded from all FastQ. Thirty plasma and 25 gastric fluid samples from 30 neonates were analyzed. Eight cases of chorioamnionitis were pathologically diagnosed. Putative pathogens were not detected in all plasma samples. The neonates were divided into three groups based on the characteristics of the gastric fluid, and the rate of chorioamnionitis was significantly higher in the group in which Ureaplasma was indicator genus. In neonates with respiratory distress, gastric fluid was more useful as a sample than plasma. Early detection of intra-amniotic infections due to Ureaplasma using gastric fluid may influence the treatment strategy for neonates with respiratory distress.