Comparison of vaginal and transabdominal collection of amniotic fluid for fetal lung maturity tests.

Backgrounds: The lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio and lamellar body count (LBC) are two tests that can be used to estimate the probability of the occurrence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Our objective was to compare the prognostic capacity of the L/S ratio and the LBC in the prediction of RDS from amniotic fluid that was obtained either transabdominally or vaginally.

Methods: Consecutive women undergoing amniotic fluid sampling for determination of fetal lung maturity were included.