title: Diagnosis of premature rupture of membranes with an improved alpha-fetoprotein monoclonal antibody kit.
abstract: We developed a new kit for detecting alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in leaked amniotic fluid (Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 1995;58:67-72). Later, we developed an improved AFP kit utilizing the same AFP monoclonal antibody. We compared this improved AFP test with the nitrazine test for 137 patients. The nitrazine test correctly diagnosed 62.1% of the cases, but the improved AFP kit diagnosed 98.0% for < 37 weeks of gestation (P < 0.001). The nitrazine test showed a specificity of 58.3%, whereas the AFP kit showed a 100% rate for detecting > or = 37 weeks of gestation (P < 0.01). The reaction time with the AFP kit is 90 s. This study has confirmed a high clinical efficacy of the improved AFP test kit as a method of diagnosis of premature rupture of fetal membranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishida
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirao
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katamine
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sagawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins