Publication
Frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy of the uterine cervix during cervical ripening
Journal Paper/Review - Sep 20, 2007
Hornung René, Baños Ana, Wolf Martin, Grawe Claudia, Stahel Michèle, Haensse Daniel, Fink Daniel
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Keywords
preterm labor;
cervical ripening
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Brief description/objective
Preterm labor is a common obstetric complication. Clinical evaluation of cervical ripening to predict preterm labor has a substantial inter- and intraobserver variability. We used frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy (FD-NIRS) to non-invasively investigate the changes of the optical properties (i.e., absorption and scattering of light) in the uterine cervix during drug-induced cervical ripening.
Methods
Ten volunteers scheduled for abortion were examined. Optical properties of the uterine cervix were measured and physiological parameters were calculated prior to and after induction of cervical ripening using topical misoprostol. Mean relative changes, ±standard error of the mean as well as statistical significance using the t-test were calculated for oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin, total hemoglobin, oxygen-saturation, and water. The wavelength-dependent decrease of scattering (scatter power) was calculated by an exponential fit and tested with the Wilcoxon test.
Results
Misoprostol induced a decrease in total hemoglobin of 21±6% (P<0.05), a decrease in oxyhemoglobin of 22±6% (P<0.05), a decrease in deoxyhemoglobin of 16±11% and an increase of 36±8% (P<0.005) in water content. The scatter power was significantly lower (P<0.05) after cervical ripening.