The impact of fetal fibronectin testing for women with symptoms of preterm labour in routine clinical practice within a New Zealand population

Abstract

Women with a positive fFN result received different treatment to those with a negative fFN. Use of fFN test in routine clinical practice allows management and resources to be targeted more appropriately and may limit unnecessary interventions.

Evaluation of the impact of fetal fibronectin test implementation on hospital admissions for preterm labour inOntario: a multiple baseline time‐series design

“…Despite different study designs, our results concur with other studies reporting a significant reduction in hospital admissions for PTL . Most previous studies assessed the impact of fFN testing on healthcare utilisation using cohort study designs comparing pre‐ and post‐intervention periods; however, such comparisons are vulnerable to confounding from temporal trends and concurrent interventions .…”

“…Numerous systematic reviews/meta‐analyses, clinical trials and cohort studies reporting diagnostic test properties of the fFN test in different obstetrical populations have demonstrated high negative predictive values (between 75% and 100%), indicating that women who test negative for fFN have a high probability of not delivering within the subsequent 7–14 days. The utilisation of the fFN test for the evaluation of women presenting with PTL has achieved measurable reductions in hospital admissions, maternal transfer rates and length of stay for PTL in numerous settings; however, to our knowledge, an evaluation at a health system level has not been carried out previously.…”

Prediction of preterm delivery in symptomatic women using PAMG‐1, fetal fibronectin and phIGFBP‐1 tests: systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Overall, 14 studies ( n = 2278 women) reporting on PAMG‐1, 40 ( n = 7431 women) on fFN and 22 ( n = 3192 women) on phIGFBP‐1 were included in the final analysis. Of these, 11 studies included performance metrics for more than one biomarker.…”

“…The sample size of the included studies ranged from 22 77 to 725 52 (mean, 158) subjects. 20 Fatkullin (2016) 45 Hadzi-Lega (2017) 48 Heverhagen (2015) 17 Konoplyannikov (2016) 47 Lotfi (2015) 44 Lou (2016) 46 Melchor (2018) 40 Nikolova (2015) 42 Nikolova (2017) 30 Ravi (2017) 43 Van Holsbeke (2016) 41 Wing (2017) Bartnicki (1996) 49 Benattar (1997) 62 Bruijn (2016) 28 Çekmez (2017) 20 Cheung (2013) 77 Closset (2001) 68 Desjardins (2008) 53 Diaz (2009) 75 Eroglu (2007) 73 Foxman (2004) 56 Gao (2014) 22 Giles (2000) 71 Gomez (2005) 74 Groom (2006) 59 Henrich (2010) 60 Iams (1995) 14 LaShay (2000) 55 Liong (2015) 66 Lopez (2000) 70 Lowe (2004) 63 Luzzi (2003) 58 MacDonald (2007) 50 Magro-Malosso (2017) 78 Malak (1996) 65 McKenna (1999) 72 Melchor (2018) 40 Nikolova (2015) 42 Peaceman (1997) 52 Riboni (2011) 54 Sakai (2003) 51 Senden (1996) 76 Skoll (2006) …”

Implementation of foetal fibronectin testing: Admissions, maternal interventions and costs at 1 year

“…Introduction of the fFN test to the UK and the rest of Europe has been slow in comparison to other countries such as Australia (Giles et al, 2000), New Zealand (Groom et al, 2006), the United States (Plaut et al, 2003, Swamy et al, 2005, Incerti et al, 2007 and Canada (Giles et al, 2000, MacDonald et al, 2007. In these countries where the impact of in utero transfer is high due to their large distances, implementation of the fFN test has been shown to reduce in utero transfers and medical costs.…”