Novel Blood-Based Diagnostic Test Accurately Predicts Impending Preterm Birth

A novel blood-based diagnostic test could help to accurately predict the impending preterm birth in women threatened with preterm labor, a new study reveals.

In the new study led by Lunenfeld -Tanenbaum Research Institute Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada, researchers presented a new blood test that helps diagnose whether or not pregnant women with threatened preterm labor (TPTL) would or would not have a preemie. 

One of the major causes of childbirth-related mortality in the developed world is preterm birth. Only 5 percent of the women who are hospitalized with symptoms of premature labor deliver a preemie within ten days of hospitalization.

According to MedlinePlus, nearly 500,000 preemies are born every year in the U.S. i.e. 1 in 8 infants are born in the United States.  Preemies are those who are born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.

"A lot of TPTL women are unnecessarily hospitalized," Professor Stephen Lye said in a statement. "We want to develop a test that can differentiate between true and false labor so that women in true labor can receive the appropriate medical care while women in false labor will receive supportive care and be discharged."

One of the current preterm labor diagnostic tests is the fetal fibronectin test (fFN). But this test is easily influenced by certain factors that may lead to false positives. Due to this, many women do not qualify for the fFN test.

In the research, the researchers used microarrays that could be used in all cases to study the differential whole blood gene expression that is linked to preterm birth within 48 hours of hospitalisation with TPTL.

To test this, prior to the treatment, the researchers collected blood samples from 150 TPTL women.  They also performed the fFN test on the eligible participants. Finally they compared both the results.

The researchers identified a set of nine genes for comparison. Together with the clinical blood data, they classified whether or not 70 percent of participants would or would not have a spontaneous preterm birth within 48 hours of hospital admission. The nine genes couple with the clinical blood data surpassed the fFN test.

"This newer test highlights the advantages of utilizing a blood-based diagnostic test to predict spontaneous preterm birth, where it can be performed on all women and as part of routine blood work," the researchers conclude.

The finding was reported in PLOS One.