Jan 13, 2021

 

The work started in Gothenberg by the biomarkers group has finally been published! Co-authored by many members of the I-Spy collaboration group, this paper reviews the prognostic accuracy of commercially cervicovaginal biomarkers for PTB in the week following the test.

You can read the abstract below, and find the paper in the following link: EJOGRB

 

An accurate prognostic method for preterm birth (PTB) could avoid unnecessary treatment(s) withpotentially negative effects. The objective was to explore the prognostic accuracy of commercially available bedside cervicovaginal biomarker tests in combination with cervical length (CL) compared to CLmeasurement alone and/or a biomarker test alone, for PTB within 7 days after testing symptomaticwomen at 22–34 weeks. The MEDLINE, Cochrane, Embase and Web of Science databases were searchedfrom inception to August 28th, 2019. Seven hundred and eight articles were identified and screened usingRayyan. Studies reporting on the predictive accuracy of combined tests compared to CL or biomarkeralone for the prediction of PTB within 7 days of testing in symptomatic women with intact membraneswere included. A piloted data extraction form was used. Direct comparisons of the prognostic accuracy ofthe combination test with CL measurement or a biomarker alone were done, as well as comparisons ofprognostic accuracy of the included combination tests (indirect comparisons). Twelve articles wereincluded (seven on fetal fibronectin, four on phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1,one comparing both). A variety of CL cut-offs was reported. The results could not demonstrate superiorityof a combination method compared to single methods. Due to data scarcity and quality, the superiority ofeither predictive test for PTB, either combination or single, cannot be demonstrated with this systematicreview. We recommend further research to compare available biomarkers.

 

Congratulations!