METHOD: In this prospective cohort study, pregnant women between 16 and 24 weeks who fulfilled the criteria were recruited. Women with history of preterm birth were excluded. Demographic and clinical data (age, BMI, ethnicity, education level and parity) were obtained. Cervical length was measured using transvaginal scan. Patients were then followed up till delivery to determine their delivery gestation and outcome of delivery.
RESULTS: Out of 153 women who participated in this study, 146 women had cervical length of more than 30 mm, six had cervical length between 25 mm and 30 mm and one had cervical length of 24 mm. There were nine (9) cases of sPTB, with all of them being late preterm with normal midtrimester cervical length. Almost half of them (44%) were overweight/obese. A significant association was found between age, cervical length, and parity compared to BMI. Nevertheless, no significant association was seen between the BMI and risk of sPTB.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a higher BMI is associated with longer cervical length, but it is not necessarily protective against sPTB. Hence, we concluded there is a limited role in cervical length screening among low-risk women regardless of their BMI in predicting sPTB.
DESIGN: A prospective study.
SETTING: A tertiary hospital in Malaysia.
POPULATION: A cohort of 193 term nulliparous women with intact membranes.
METHODS: Prior to labour induction, cervical fluid was obtained via a vaginal speculum and tested for IGFBP-1, followed by TVUS and finally Bishop score. After each assessment the procedure-related pain was scored from 0 to 10. Cut-off values for Bishop score and cervical length were obtained from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed.
MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Vaginal delivery and vaginal delivery within 24 hours of starting induction.
RESULTS: Bedside IGFBP-1 testing is better tolerated than Bishop score, but is less well tolerated than TVUS [median (interquartile range) of pain scores: 5 (4-5) versus 6 (5-7) versus 3 (2-3), respectively; P < 0.001]. IGFBP-1 independently predicted vaginal delivery (adjusted odds ratio, AOR 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 2.3-12.9) and vaginal delivery within 24 hours of induction (AOR 4.9; 95% CI 2.1-11.6) after controlling for Bishop score (≥4 or ≥5), cervical length (≤29 or ≤27 mm), and other significant characteristics for which the Bishop score and TVUS were not predictive of vaginal delivery after adjustment. IGFBP-1 has 81% sensitivity, 59% specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 82 and 58%, respectively, and positive and negative likelihood ratios of 2.0 and 0.3 for vaginal delivery, respectively.
CONCLUSION: IGFBP-1 better predicted vaginal delivery than BS or TVUS, and may help guide decision making regarding labour induction in nulliparous women.
TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: IGFBP-1: a stronger independent predictor of labour induction success than Bishop score or cervical sonography.
METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study involving 58 pregnancies from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2019. Inclusion criteria were previous mid-trimester miscarriage and/or preterm birth, previous cervical surgery or short cervical length on routine sonogram. The demographic data, characteristics of each pregnancy and details of outcomes and management were described.
RESULTS: The majority of women were Malay with mean age and body mass index of 32.9 ± 4.2 years and 27.1 ± 6.3 kg/m2 respectively. The most frequent indications for Arabin pessary insertion were previous mid-trimester miscarriage (46.4%) and early preterm birth (17.2%). A total of 73.4% of these women had the pessary inserted electively at a mean cervical length of 31.6 ± 9.1 mm at median gestation of 15.0 weeks. They were managed as outpatient (56.9%), inpatient (24.1%) or mixed (19.0%) with combination of progestogen (81.0%) and 53.4% received antenatal corticosteroids. Spontaneous preterm birth at or more than 34 weeks gestation occurred in 74.1% with birthweight at or more than 2000 g (82.4%). Despite cervical funneling in 12 women (20.7%), 66.7% delivered at or later than 34 weeks gestation and 2 (16.7%) resulted in miscarriage.
CONCLUSIONS: Insertion of the Arabin pessary is beneficial to prevent spontaneous preterm birth in pregnant women who are at high risk. In particular, early insertion and close monitoring allows the best possible outcomes.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04638023 ) on 20/11/2020.