Infection Induced Fetal Inflammatory Response Syndrome (FIRS): State-of- the-Art and Medico-Legal Implications—A Narrative Review

Abstract

Fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) represents the fetal inflammatory reaction to intrauterine infection or injury, potentially leading to multiorgan impairment, neonatal mortality, and morbidity. Infections induce FIRS after chorioamnionitis (CA), defined as acute maternal inflammatory response to amniotic fluid infection, acute funisitis and chorionic vasculitis. FIRS involves many molecules, i.e., cytokines and/or chemokines, able to directly or indirectly damage fetal organs. Therefore, due to FIRS being a condition with a complex etiopathogenesis and multiple organ dysfunction, especially brain injury, medical liability is frequently claimed. In medical malpractice, reconstruction of the pathological pathways is paramount. However, in cases of FIRS, ideal medical conduct is hard to delineate, due to uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this highly complex condition. This narrative review revises the current knowledge of FIRS caused by infections, maternal and neonatal diagnosis and treatments, the main consequences of the disease and their prognoses, and discusses the medico-legal implications.

Predictive Value of Inflammatory Markers NLR, PLR, APRI, SII, and Liver Function Tests in Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Detection in Full-Term Newborns

“…Full-term newborns who develop SIRS are often those who have been exposed to risk factors such as maternal infections, prolonged rupture of membranes, or complications during delivery [16]. The presence of SIRS in this population is particularly challenging to diagnose due to the non-specific nature of its clinical presentation, which can overlap with normal neonatal physiological responses or other benign conditions [17].…”