ABSTRACT
Vaginal Pool Collection The assessment of fetal pulmonary maturity can be obtained from vaginal pool specimens in the presence of premature rupture of membranes. Blood, meconium, and mucous can alter the results. In the absence of these contaminants, vaginally free-flowing collected fluid can be evaluated for determination of L/S ratio, surfactant/albumin ratio, PG, and lamellar body count yielding results similar to those observed with samples obtained with amniocentesis (Table 57.1). As obtaining a specimen via a sterile syringe is not always technically feasible, an alternative collection method using the commonly available “4 4” gauze sponge has been validated for both PG and TDx-FLM II analyses (see below). Essentially, the gauze is inserted into the vagina at the posterior fornix and then plunged into a 60-cc syringe to extract the vaginal pool specimen (6).
