Lamellar body count and stable microbubble test on gastric aspirates from preterm infants for the diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Lamellar body count (LBC) in amniotic fluid is being used to identify infants at risk of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) who would benefit from surfactant prophylaxis or very early therapy. The test in gastric aspirates of newborns has not been properly explored.

Objective: The main objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of LBC alone or in combination with the stable microbubble test (SMT), done on gastric aspirates from preterm babies to predict RDS.