Biomaterial Database

Fetal maturity: biochemical analyses of amniotic fluid. 1975

J L Myers, and M J Harrell, and F L Hill

One hundred and three samples of amniotic fluid from 21 normal and 64 medically complicated pregnancies were used for evaluating fetal maturity by measuring one or more of the following: the lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio (L/S), bilirubin concentration, creatinine concentration, and percentage of fetal fat cells. The rapid foam test for surfactant was evaluated in 20 of the samples and found to be unreliable in predicting the risk of respiratory distress syndrome. The test for fat cells gave a large percentage of false negative results, and the creatinine concentration failed to show a good correlation with gestational age. Both the bilirubin concentration and L/S ratio showed good correlation with gestational age. However, since the major cause of death in a premature infant is the respiratory distress syndrome, the maturity of the fetal lung, which is best estimated by the L/S ratio, has to be the prime concern.

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
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
D011248	Pregnancy Complications	Conditions or pathological processes associated with pregnancy. They can occur during or after pregnancy, and range from minor discomforts to serious diseases that require medical interventions. They include diseases in pregnant females, and pregnancies in females with diseases.	Adverse Birth Outcomes,Complications, Pregnancy,Adverse Birth Outcome,Birth Outcome, Adverse,Complication, Pregnancy,Outcome, Adverse Birth,Pregnancy Complication
D011254	Pregnancy in Diabetics	The state of PREGNANCY in women with DIABETES MELLITUS. This does not include either symptomatic diabetes or GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE induced by pregnancy (DIABETES, GESTATIONAL) which resolves at the end of pregnancy.	Pregnancy in Diabetes,Pregnancy in Diabete,Pregnancy in Diabetic
D011272	Pregnancy, Multiple	The condition of carrying two or more FETUSES simultaneously.	Multiple Pregnancy,Multiple Pregnancies,Pregnancies, Multiple
D011336	Probability	The study of chance processes or the relative frequency characterizing a chance process.	Probabilities
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