| Titre : | Does the use of lubricating gel on the speculum during fetal fibronectin testing affect the result? An audit from a larger inner-city preterm birth surveillance clinic (2022) |
| Auteurs : | Hannah Fligelstone ; Andrew Shennan ; Naomi Carlisle |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | Midwifery Digest (Midirs) (Vol. 32, n° 3, September 2022) |
| Article en page(s) : | p. 357-361 |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Descripteurs : |
HE Vinci Evaluation ; Fibronectines ; Lubrifiants ; Prématurité ; Speculum ; Surveillance |
| Résumé : |
Objective: To evaluate whether the use of lubricating gel on the speculum during a quantitative fetal fibronectin (qfFN) test has any effect on the result, and to thereby determine whether the use of gel can in fact be recommended to ease potential pain and discomfort for the patient, contrary to current manufacturer (Hologic@) guidance.
Methods: Data was collected in a preterm birth surveillance clinic in a large inner-city hospital via convenience sampling from January-September 2019. The data collected for each participant included maternal age, ethnicity, whether lubricating gel was used, gestation at appointment, qfFN result and delivery outcome. Some participants attended multiple appointments within the audit timeframe, and data were analysed from each individual appointment. Each appointment was therefore considered as a separate case. Results: 857 cases from 407 women were included in the analysis. Four hundred and seventy (54.8%) cases had qfFN tests without lubricating gel used, the remaining 387 (45.2%) used lubricating gel. The mean qfFN results for these groups were 39ng/mL and 29ng/mL respectively and the medians 4ng/mL and 5ng/mL. Initial analysis with Mann-Whitney U showed the two groups had significantly different qfFN results (p=0.045) but the effect size was very small (r=0.069). Chi-square testing suggested the spread of qfFN results over four categories ( Conclusion: The overwhelming evidence from this audit suggests that using gel on the speculum does not significantly change the qfFN results and that any differences are not large enough to alter clinicians' interpretation and advice given to the patient. These results are notable, given the discomfort women experience during vaginal speculum examination without gel. |
| Disponible en ligne : | Non |
Exemplaires (1)
| Cote | Support | Localisation | Section | Disponibilité |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwifery Digest (Midirs). Vol. 32, n° 3 (September 2022) | Périodique papier | Woluwe | Espace revues | Consultation sur place uniquement Exclu du prêt |
