The efficacy of quantitative fetal fibronectin in predicting spontaneous preterm birth in symptomatic women: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Recent data suggest that quantitative measurements of fetal fibronectin can be used accurately to predict increased risk of preterm birth.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the quantification of fetal fibronectin improves diagnostic accuracy in women who present with symptoms suggestive of threatened preterm labour (TPL) using a quantitative fetal fibronectin (qfFN) bedside analyser.

STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women who presented between 22+6 and 32+6  weeks gestation with symptoms of TPL who had qfFN measured using the Rapid fFN Q10 system. The ability to predict spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) within 48 h, 14 days and <34 weeks gestation at qfFN thresholds of 10, 50 and 200 ng/mL was assessed.

RESULTS: The overall rate of sPTB <34 weeks was 4.1% (n = 373). For deliveries within 48 h, within 14 days and <34 weeks, a qfFN threshold of 200 ng/mL had positive predictive values of 26.7%, 42.9% and 46.7%, respectively, when compared to patients with qfFN values of 0-9 ng/mL. The corresponding relative risks were 68.5, 53.8 and 38.0, respectively CONCLUSION: Quantitative fetal fibronectin testing with thresholds of 10, 50 and 200 ng/mL allows for more accurate prediction of preterm birth in symptomatic women. This higher degree of discrimination allows for more directed interventions for high-risk patients and reduces the cost and burden of unnecessary treatment for low-risk patients.