title: [Assessment of fetal lung maturity by determination of phosphatidylglycerol in human amniotic fluid].
abstract: The enzymatic method for the specific quantification of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) was described in detail in this paper. Under the present assay conditions, as little as 2 nmoles of PG or PC was accurately measured. The possibility of contamination of cardiolipin and bilirubin in amniotic fluid was eliminated by chromatography on a silicic acid column. Using 275 amniotic fluid samples from uneventful pregnancies, fetal lung maturity was assessed by using a variety of parameters including PG and PC determination. Based on the results of the present investigation, critical concentrations of PG and PC were determined to be 0.36 and 3.0 mumoles/dl, respectively. 239 infants who had more than the critical PG concentration were all associated with normal respiratory function except 3 cases (false-positive rate, 1.3%). 30 out of 36 infants with a PG value lower than this level developed respiratory distress syndrome after birth (false-negative rate, 16.7%). These results indicated that the PG determination was the most accurate predictor of fetal lung well-being prior to birth among the clinical tests so far reported.
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005325:Fetal Organ Maturity; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols