title: Studies on the modified foam stability test. Effects of blood and meconium and comparison with Clements' shake test.
abstract: Fifty samples of amniotic fluid, obtained from intrapartum women whose period of gestation ranged from 28 to 42 weeks, were evaluated for the presence of pulmonary surfactant activity by means of "modified foam stability test (MFS test)." This test is based on the functional surfactant activity of forming the stable foam when absolute ethanol is added to amniotic fluid and shaken for a short period. The results of the modified foam stability test were well correlated to those of Clements' shake test so far as it was concerned with high titer group. While the four cases showed entirely "negative" in the modified foam stability test when the newborn infant developed respiratory problems, one of them presented "positive" Clements' test. The contamination with blood or meconium within 1%, which implied a little staining by blood or meconium, did not affect the outcome of the modified foam stability test. This test is a valuable and simple screening test for the determination of the presence of pulmonary surfactant activity.
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis; D001769:Blood; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005325:Fetal Organ Maturity; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008470:Meconium; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000032:analysis*; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants