title: Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in cervicovaginal fluid of women presenting with preterm labor: predictive value for preterm delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinically useful tests for the prediction and diagnosis of preterm labor and delivery remain to be established. We have hypothesized that soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in the cervicovaginal fluid of women with preterm labor may be a useful diagnostic tool.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cervicovaginal fluid of 103 women between 24(0) and 33(6) weeks gestation with preterm contractions and intact membranes was assayed for sICAM-1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elevated sICAM-1 concentrations predicted short intervals to delivery (area under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, 0.70-0.72 for delivery within 3, 7 and 10 days), with high specificity. Characteristics for delivery within 3 days at a 3 ng/mL threshold for a positive test were sensitivity 33.3%, specificity 98.9%, and positive and negative predictive values of 75.0% and 93.9%, respectively. Predictive ability was independent of and complementary to that of fetal fibronectin (fFN).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurement of sICAM-1 in cervicovaginal fluid has potential as a predictor of preterm delivery in women with symptoms of preterm labor, particularly in conjunction with fFN testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand. k.marvin@auckland.ac.nz
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Marvin
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Keelan
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: McCowan
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012995:Solubility; D014621:Vagina / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005353:Fibronectins; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1