Background:
Preterm delivery is a predominant cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Below 20% of women with threatened preterm labor, progress to active labor and delivery.
Identification of such women will help to improve neonatal outcome by an early intervention such
as administration of steroids and in utero transfer to the hospitals with better neonatal care.
Objective:
To evaluate the importance of ultrasonographic measurement of the upper and lower
uterine segments thickness ratio to distinguish between true and false labor in women with threatened
preterm.
Methods:
A prospective cohort study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Southern India
from June 2017 to July 2018 on 151 singleton pregnant women at 24-36 weeks of gestation with
regular or painful uterine contractions. Transabdominal ultrasound was performed to measure upper
and lower uterine segments wall thickness and then the thickness ratio was calculated. Delivery
within 7 days was the primary outcome of study.
Results:
Out of 151 patients, 32 (21.2%) delivered within 7 days of presentation and the rest
(78.8%) delivered after 7 days and had a significant difference in the ratio of upper/lower uterine
segments thickness (p<0.001). The ROC curve showed a sensitivity of 81.3% and specificity of
84.2% when the cut-off value of the thickness ratio was ≥1.61.
Conclusion:
The sonographic assessment of upper and lower uterine segment thickness ratio may
be helpful to differentiate true labor from false labor among women with threatened preterm labor.
405: The role of cervical length measurement for preterm delivery prediction in women with cervical dilatation who present with threatened preterm labor
