This is interesting information and perhaps a change in the way that we evaluate patients for preterm labor.

The FDA has recently approved amniscreen as an at home test to determine whether or not a patient is leaking amniotic fluid:

This actually sounds like a fairly good idea for the proper patient. Currently, when a patient has fluid leakage from the vagina during pregnancy, she must either come in to the hospital or her doctor’s office to be evaluated by something called a nitrazine test. The test is similar to the amniscreen in that it uses a pH reaction to determine if the patient is actually leaking fluid (and is at risk for premature birth).

For many patient’s the nitrazine test is negative and the resultant evaluation has occupied time from the patient and resources from the doctor’s office and hospital staff. Moving the first part of this evaluation to the patient’s home (if done properly) will allow for improved triage and optimal utilization of resources.