End of the line for fetal lung maturity testing

Abstract

ObjectiveDuring the last decade, guidelines published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) have emphasized an increasingly limited role for fetal lung maturity (FLM) testing. As a reference laboratory for FLM testing, we were therefore interested in determining the impact of changing guidelines on our test volumes. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed FLM test volume data from 2006 to 2016 for the following FLM assays: lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio, phosphatidylglycerol, disaturated lecithin, and lamellar body count. ResultsWe found that there was a precipitous decline in test volumes from 2006 to 2016; our analysis led us to discontinue providing reference laboratory FLM testing in 2016 given the very low volumes. ConclusionsThe 2019 ACOG guidelines now state that FLM testing no longer has clinical utility. Therefore, clinical laboratory directors should meet with obstetrics providers to discuss discontinuation of FLM testing at their institutions.