Suppose an amniotic fluid sample is contaminated with blood.Which of the following steps should be taken by the laboratory to provide an accurate assessment of fetal lung maturity?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Blood has a high concentration of most phospholipids, with the exception of phosphatidylglycerol, which appears to be present in only very small concentrations.Thus when an amniotic fluid sample is contaminated with blood, measurement of phosphatidylglycerol by TLC is considered a method of choice for the evaluation of fetal lung maturity.Other methods such as the lecithin-to-sphingomyelin ratio by chromatography and the surfactant-to-albumin ratio by fluorescence polarization assay will be influenced by the phospholipids present in the blood contaminating the amniotic fluid.

Suppose an Amniotic Fluid Sample Is Contaminated with Blood