Can Neutrophil Elastase Help Prevent Preterm Birth?

A simple test was found to help predict preterm birth.

No prior study in Nigeria has examined the role of neutrophil elastase in predicting preterm birth. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the neutrophil elastase test in predicting birth outcomes in women experiencing preterm labor. ()

The present prospective cohort study recruited 83 pregnant women with preterm labor between 28 and 36+6 weeks of gestation, and followed up these subjects for 14 days. The controls comprised 85 pregnant women without preterm labor.

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Evaluation of Neutrophil Elastase in Cervicovaginal Fluid for Predicting Preterm Birth

The cervicovaginal fluid was collected and tested using the neutrophil elastase test. Then, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive parameters were determined. Afterward, the data were scrutinized using the SPSS arithmetic software (Sort23).

Among the 168 pregnant women analyzed in the present study, 83 pregnant women were assigned to the preterm labor group, and 85 pregnant women were assigned to the control group. Furthermore, among the 83 pregnant women in the preterm labor group, 11 women had spontaneous preterm delivery, leading to a spontaneous preterm birth proportion of 13.3%.

The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the neutrophil elastase test within 14 days post-enrollment were 93.8%, 61.2%, 36.6%, 97.6%, and 67.5%, respectively, for the general population, and 87.5%, 66.7%, 35.0%, 96.3%, and 70.2%, respectively, for subjects at <35 weeks of gestation. The positive and negative likelihood ratios for preterm birth prediction were 2.62 and 0.19, respectively.

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Compared to the controls, the neutrophil elastase test had strong predictive accuracy, in terms of sensitivity and negative predictive value. In regular clinical environments with preterm labor, the neutrophil elastase test may be used as a screening test, rather than as a potential predictive test, when available.

Reference:

Neutrophil Elastase as a Predictor of Delivery in Pregnant Women with Preterm Labour - (https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2472-0712/ERHM-2023-00032)

Source-Eurekalert

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