The use of a novel test for identifying pregnant women at risk of spontaneous preterm birth risk could improve infant outcomes and reduce the overall economic impact of preterm birth, according to a study published in the December 2016 issue of the American Journal of Perinatology Reports. The PreTRM test by Sera Prognostics (Salt Lake City) analyzes maternal blood using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry as early as 19 weeks of gestation. The proteomic test simultaneously measures multiple proteins associated with preterm birth, including those tied to inflammation, hemorrhage, stress, and uterine over-distention. The test developers say that identifying women at risk for premature delivery enables individualized and informed clinical care. Approximately one in 10 babies born in the United States is premature (born before 37 weeks gestation), which is associated with a significantly increased risk of major long-term medical complications, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory illness, intellectual disability, seizures, and vision and hearing loss. These complications are costly, estimated to be an average of $54,194 in medical cost per preterm baby (roughly 10 times the cost for a full-term baby). In the present study, the researchers developed a decision-analytic model to assess clinical and cost outcomes over a […]