OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between inflammatory cytokines and the risk of
spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic women. DATA SOURCES: We searched
electronic databases of the human literature in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane
Library up to February 2010 using the following key words:“preterm/pre-
term+(birth/delivery)” and “cytokine” or “inflammation/inflammatory+ marker/biomarker.”
METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: We included observational studies that reported the�…

Objective To estimate the association between inflammatory cytokines in various biologic
fluids and the risks of spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic women. Study Design We
conducted electronic database searches of human literature in PubMed, MEDLINE,
EMBASE and the Cochrane Library up to August 2009 for articles on levels of inflammatory
cytokines in biologic fluids and the risk of preterm birth in asymptomatic women. We also
checked reference lists of known reviews and primary articles to identify new studies not�…