Funisitis is
inflammation
Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...
of the
connective tissue
Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, a group of cells that are similar in structure, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesod ...
of the
umbilical cord
In Placentalia, placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord i ...
that occurs with
chorioamnionitis.
It involves only the external cord surface and
Wharton's jelly. It has no involvement of the vessels. It does not involve the
umbilical stump, which would be seen in
omphalitis.
Necrotizing funisitis
Necrotizing funisitis is a very severe form of funisitis that occurs when the funisitis has been present for a long time. Debris from inflammatory cells accumulate and the cord becomes calcified. Treatment with IV antibiotics is necessary for necrotizing funisitis, with a minimum of 7 days. This can occur in healthy born infants; the infection occurs in the days and weeks following birth. With IV antibiotic treatment and early management, outcomes are good.
Syphilis association
It could be associated with
congenital
A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
, which is noted in a journal from 1999. It is now rare, and seen almost exclusively in the
preterm infant. The majority of these affected infants are
stillborn, or die within a few weeks of birth.
Treatment
The most common way to treat funisitis is with antibiotics. If you have choriamnionitis, the antibiotics that are most effective are
ampicillin
Ampicillin is an antibiotic belonging to the aminopenicillin class of the penicillin family. The drug is used to prevent and treat several bacterial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, meningitis, s ...
and
gentamicin
Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic used to treat several types of bacterial infections. This may include bone infections, endocarditis, pelvic inflammatory disease, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and sepsis amo ...
. However, if you're allergic to penicillin, you may need to use other antibiotics, such as
clindamycin,
cefazolin, or
vancomycin
Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic medication used to treat certain bacterial infections. It is administered intravenously ( injection into a vein) to treat complicated skin infections, bloodstream infections, endocarditis, bone an ...
. After giving birth, the official recommendation is to give one dose of antibiotics with a
cesarean section, but this doesn't always happen. If you deliver vaginally, you may need to take antibiotics for a longer period of time, depending on the situation.
See also
*
Chorioamnionitis
*
Placentitis
Placentitis is an inflammation of the placenta. The main forms of placentitis are:
*Villitis, inflammation of chorionic villi.
*Intervillositis, inflammation of the intervillous space.
It may be caused by vertically transmitted infections.
Beca ...
References
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Neonatology
Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium