Physiologic Risk Assessments to Predict Preterm Birth

摘要

This study sought to validate a highly predictive (retrospective) screeningmethod using uterine contraction monitoring recently developed by the principal investigator, and determined whether the ability to use this method to identify women at risk for preterm labor could be further improved by the addition of pelvic examination findings. The 3-year project addressed whether these physiologic measures (i.e., uterine contraction frequency, cervical examination, and vaginal pH), when determined at standard prenatal visit intervals, could be used effectively to identify low risk women who subsequently experience preterm birth because of preterm labor or preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), and whether interpretation of uterine contraction data could be improved and standardized by means of a computer program. The study found, however, that the physiologic measures failed to differentiate the few women destined for preterm delivery in this sample of pregnant women at very low risk for preterm delivery, suggesting that these approaches are not useful in very low risk populations despite their possible value in women at high risk for preterm labor or PPROM.