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Amniotic Fluid Phospholipids In Early Gestation

From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, University of Illinois at the Medical Center. Chicago, Illinois and the Maimonidcs Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York

Abstract

In an attempt to explain poor clinical correlation between amniotic fluid lccitllin/sphingomyclin (L/S) ratio and development of respiratory distress syndrome when the ratio is low, a comparison was made of the phospholipid composition of amniotic fluids in early and late gestation. The results showed an increase in total phospholipid from 2.1 to 5.2 mg/100 ml. an increase of lecithin from 21.0 to 64.8% (0.44 nig to 2.92 mg/100 ml), and a decrease of sphingomyelin from 51.3 to 7.9% (1.07 mg to 0.35 mg/100 ml). Other phospholipids showed minor changes. Amniotic fluid sphingomyelin does not represent extrusion of lung surfactant and some clinical discrepancies might be avoided if, instead of L/S ratio, the percentage of lecithin in total phospholipids (L/PL ratio) is employed