Fetal Fibronectin as a Predictor of Preterm Delivery: A Nigerian Cohort Study

Abstract

Background. Fetal fibronectin is a useful biomarker in the diagnosis and management of preterm labour. Objectives. To evaluate the relationship between cervical fetal fibronectin and preterm delivery and the association between cervical fetal fibronectin level and gestational age at delivery. Materials and Methods. A prospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria, involving equal number of pregnant women with (96) and without (96) preterm labour. Fetal fibronectin assay was done using solid-phase immunogold assay. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 24. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were done. The level of significance was p-value <0.05. Results. Less than half (47.9%) of the women in the study group had preterm delivery while 13.09% of the women in the control group delivered preterm. Fetal fibronectin test had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 78%, 86.5%, 71.9%, and 89.0%, respectively, a positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of 5.76(95% CI, 3.67 – 9.64) and 0.26(95% CI, 0.16 – 0.41), respectively. Conclusion. The findings in our study value of fetal fibronectin in predicting preterm delivery. Its use will support less intervention for patients with negative results.