title: Comparison of phospholipids in vaginal and amniocentesis specimens of patients with premature rupture of membranes.
abstract: Amniotic fluid was obtained from the vaginal pool and by transabdominal amniocentesis in 28 patients who were admitted to the hospital between 26 and 35 weeks' gestation with premature rupture of the membranes. Phospholipid profiles were obtained on all specimens with the use of high-performance liquid chromatography. The lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and lysolecithin were all analyzed to determine the effect of vaginal contamination. With the use of a paired t test, only lysolecithin was shown to be significantly affected by vaginal contamination (p less than 0.05). As determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, evaluation of phospholipids in vaginal fluid of patients with premature rupture of the membranes appears to be an accurate and reliable method for predicting fetal lung maturity.
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005325:Fetal Organ Maturity; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014621:Vagina / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010743:Phospholipids