Fetal fibronectin

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Fetal fibronectin (fFN) is a protein produced by fetal cells and a type of fibronectin. fFN is found at the interface of the chorion and the decidua (between the fetal sack and the uterine lining).

It can be thought of as an adhesive or "biological glue" that binds the fetal sack to the uterine lining.

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[edit] Diagnosic test

Fetal fibronectin "leaks" into the vagina if a preterm delivery is likely to occur and can be measured in a diagnostic test.[1]

It is an excellent biological marker of premature (preterm) delivery; a delivery before 37 weeks of gestation.

When the fFN test is considered positive, delivery is likely to occur soon. When the fFN test is negative, it means that there is little if any danger of preterm labour for 7-10 days. The test is easily performed. A specimen is collected from the patient using a vaginal swab. The swab is placed in a transport tube and sent to the lab for testing. The lab can easily produce a test result in less than one hour.

A systematic review of the medical literature found that fetal fibronectin is a good predictor of spontaneous preterm birth before cervical dilation.[2] The test may be run on patients between 22 and 35 weeks gestation.

A negative fetal fibronectin test gives a more than 95% likelihood of remaining undelivered for the next 2 weeks. On the other hand, a positive fetal fibronectin test indicates a higher risk of preterm delivery (61% of delivery before 34 weeks)[3]. So, the fetal fibronectin test can't tell you for sure that you are in labor, but it can tell you that you're not.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lockwood CJ, Senyei AE, Dische MR, et al (1991). "Fetal fibronectin in cervical and vaginal secretions as a predictor of preterm delivery". N. Engl. J. Med. 325 (10): 669–74. PMID 1870640. 
  2. ^ Honest H, Bachmann LM, Gupta JK, Kleijnen J, Khan KS. Accuracy of cervicovaginal fetal fibronectin test in predicting risk of spontaneous preterm birth: systematic review. BMJ. 2002 Aug 10;325(7359):301. PMID 12169504. Free Full Text.
  3. ^ Farquharson D, Skoll A. Fetal fibronectin. BCRCP Perspectives, Winter 2004. Available at: http://www.rcp.gov.bc.ca/whatsnew_pdfs/fibronectin.pdf. Accessed on: December 25, 2007.

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