predictive value of fetal breathing activity in the diagnosis of labour

One hundred and eighty patients presented with the diagnosis of labour, were scanned for 20 minutes with ultrasonography for the presence or absence of fetal breathing activity. Fetal breathing movements were not detected in 56 patients, 54 of them delivered spontaneously within 48 hours. Breathing movements were detected in 124 fetuses and pregnancy continued for more than two days in 101, in the remaining 23 cases labour occurred spontaneously within 24 hours. The diagnostic precision was further improved by assessment of the cervix by Bishop score. No patient with score > 8 showed fetal breathing activity and all were delivered within 48 hours. It can be suggested that the presence of fetal breathing activity differentiates true labour from false labour

Glycosylated haemoglobin and one-hour oral glucose screen for gestational diabetes

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the use of glycosylated haemoglobin [Hb A[1]] as a screening tool for the detection of gestational diabetes in 30 women. At 24 - 38 weeks, these patients had an Hb A[1] determination prior to diabetes secreening with a 1-hour serum glucose after 50 gm of oral glucose load. 27 out of 30 [90%] high-risk women had normal I-hour serum glucose [< 140 mg%]. 13 out of these 27 women [48.15%] had an abnormal Hb A[1] [>8.8%]. 3 out of 30 [10%] high-risk women had abnormal 1-hour glucose screen. All of them had abnormal Hb A[1]. So abnormal Hb A1 had been documented in 16 out of 30 [53.33%] studied risk cases. It can be concluded that Hb A[1] screen is more reliable than I-hour glucose screen