Biomaterial Database

[The value of various investigations of amniotic fluid in the estimation of fetal maturity (author's transl)]. 1975

A Bichler, and K Grassmayr, and H Wachter, and O Dapunt

The amniotic fluid lecithin-spingomyelin (L/S) ratio, creatinine and uric acid concentrations, percentage of organe-stained fat cells and the foam test by Clements and coworkers have been compared in 82 samples of amniotic fluid from 66 patients. The specimens were obtained by transabdominal amniocentesis or amniotomy between the 24th and the 42nd week of pregnancy. The determination of the L/S ratio and the foam test seem to be reliable methods of estimating pulmonary surfactant and, hence, of predicting the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the newborn infant. There was no RDS with an L/S ratio greater than 1.6 to 1.8. Positive foam tests also seem to be a valuable indicator of pulmonary maturity, no cases of RDS being found. However, false negative foam tests are not rare. The amniotic fluid concentration of creatinine correlated well with gestational age and birth weight. The determination of uric acid in the amniotic fluid is an unreliable test of fetal maturity on account of the large scatter. The percentage of orange-stained cells did not rise above 10% before the 39th week of pregnancy in most cases.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008168	Lung	Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood.	Lungs
D010713	Phosphatidylcholines	Derivatives of PHOSPHATIDIC ACIDS in which the phosphoric acid is bound in ester linkage to a CHOLINE moiety.	Choline Phosphoglycerides,Choline Glycerophospholipids,Phosphatidyl Choline,Phosphatidyl Cholines,Phosphatidylcholine,Choline, Phosphatidyl,Cholines, Phosphatidyl,Glycerophospholipids, Choline,Phosphoglycerides, Choline
D010743	Phospholipids	Lipids containing one or more phosphate groups, particularly those derived from either glycerol (phosphoglycerides see GLYCEROPHOSPHOLIPIDS) or sphingosine (SPHINGOLIPIDS). They are polar lipids that are of great importance for the structure and function of cell membranes and are the most abundant of membrane lipids, although not stored in large amounts in the system.	Phosphatides,Phospholipid
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011663	Pulmonary Surfactants	Substances and drugs that lower the SURFACE TENSION of the mucoid layer lining the PULMONARY ALVEOLI.	Surfactants, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Surfactant,Surfactant, Pulmonary
D012127	Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn	A condition of the newborn marked by DYSPNEA with CYANOSIS, heralded by such prodromal signs as dilatation of the alae nasi, expiratory grunt, and retraction of the suprasternal notch or costal margins, mostly frequently occurring in premature infants, children of diabetic mothers, and infants delivered by cesarean section, and sometimes with no apparent predisposing cause.	Infantile Respiratory Distress Syndrome,Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome,Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Infant
D003404	Creatinine		Creatinine Sulfate Salt,Krebiozen,Salt, Creatinine Sulfate,Sulfate Salt, Creatinine
D005260	Female		Females
D005865	Gestational Age	The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated from the onset of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization. It is also estimated to begin from fertilization, estrus, coitus, or artificial insemination.	Embryologic Age,Fetal Maturity, Chronologic,Chronologic Fetal Maturity,Fetal Age,Maturity, Chronologic Fetal,Age, Embryologic,Age, Fetal,Age, Gestational,Ages, Embryologic,Ages, Fetal,Ages, Gestational,Embryologic Ages,Fetal Ages,Gestational Ages