title: Phosphatidylglycerol, lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio and respiratory distress syndrome in diabetic and non-diabetic pregnancies.
abstract: Samples of amniotic fluid from 514 non-diabetic and 69 diabetic patients were analyzed for phospholipid content. Results were correlated with incidence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the neonate. The incidence of RDS was 4.5% among diabetics and 5.3% among non-diabetics. In the presence of phosphatidylglycerol (PG), no infant developed RDS while in the absence of PG the incidence of RDS was 16.7% and 14.4%, respectively. In the presence of a mature lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio the respective incidence of RDS was 1.6 and 1.8, while with an immature L/S ratio the incidence of RDS was 28.6% and 29%. The incidence of RDS after 37 weeks gestation was 0% among diabetics and 0.6% among non-diabetics. We conclude that amniotic fluid phospholipids are equally predictive of risk for RDS in diabetics as among non-diabetic patients. We suggest that in patients with accurate gestational dating, amniotic fluid analysis for phospholipids might not be necessary to establish fetal lung maturity.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin, Madison.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Curet
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Zachman
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000378:metabolism*; D011254:Pregnancy in Diabetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013109:Sphingomyelins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols; D013109:Sphingomyelins