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Objective: To assess respiratory system impedance (Zrs) and spirometric parameters in children and adolescents with and without a history of preterm birth., Methods: We evaluated a sample of 51 subjects between 11 and 14 years of age: 35 who had a history of preterm birth (preterm group) and 16 who had been born at term (full-term group). Lung function was measured by spirometry, spectral oscillometry, and intra-breath oscillometry., Results: Neither spirometry nor spectral oscillometry revealed any statistically significant differences between the preterm and full-term groups. However, intra-breath oscillometry demonstrated significant differences between the two groups in terms of the change in resistance, reactance at end-inspiration, and the change in reactance (p < 0.05 for all)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that abnormalities in Zrs persist in children and adolescents with a history of preterm birth and that intra-breath oscillometry is more sensitive than is spectral oscillometry. Larger studies are needed in order to validate these findings and to explore the impact that birth weight and gestational age at birth have on Zrs later in life.

Purpose: To determine if the presence of infectious agents in vaginal or cervical content can alter the results of the insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) test and the measurement of cervical length (CC) by transvaginal ultrasonography., Methods: A total of 107 pregnant women with a history of spontaneous preterm birth were submitted to the phIGFBP-1 test and to measurement of CC by transvaginal ultrasonography every 3 weeks, between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation. Genital infections were determined immediately before testing. The patients were distributed into four groups (GA, GB, GC, and GD) and the correlation between genital infection and changes in the tests was determined within each group based on the odds ratio (OR) and the Pearson correlation coefficient., Results: In each group, over 50% of the patients had genital infections (GA 10/17; GB 28/42; GC 15/24; GD 35/53), with bacterial vaginosis being the main alteration of the vaginal flora. Positive results for phIGFBP-1(GA 10/10; GB 18/28; GC 15/15; GD 19/35) and CC ≤ 20 mm (GA 10/10; GB 20/28; GC 10/15; GD 20/35) were obtained more frequently in patients with genital infection in all groups. Nonetheless, when applying the Pearson correlation coefficient we detected a poor correlation between genital infection and positivity for markers., Conclusion: The presence of changes in the vaginal flora and of other genital infections does not significantly alter the results of phIGFBP-1 and the measurement of cervical length when compared to cases without infection. However, more studies with larger samples are necessary to confirm these results.

Purpose: To investigate the usefulness of the measurement of cervical length and of the test for phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) performed sequentially in the prediction of preterm birth and the correlation between tests., Methods: We analyzed data from 101 asymptomatic pregnant women with a history of premature delivery. The ultrasound measurement of cervical length and phIGFBP-1 test were performed in parallel every three weeks, between 24 and 34 week. The best cutoff value for each cervical evaluation was established by the ROC curve, and the two tests were compared using nonparametric tests. We determined the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of each test and of the association of the exams for the occurrence of delivery before the 37th weeks., Results: There were 25 preterm births (24.8%). The cervix length showed the highest sensitivity and was able to predict preterm birth in all evaluations, with similar accuracy at different gestational ages. The test for phIGFBP-1 was not helpful at 24 weeks, but was able to predict prematurity when performed at 27, 30 and 33 weeks. The combination of tests increased the sensitivity (81.8%) and negative predictive value (93.7%) when compared to the separate use of each test. The mean cervical length was lower in women with a positive test., Conclusions: Both cervical length and the test for phIGFBP-1 were able to predict premature delivery, and sequential combination of both tests showed a high sensitivity and high negative predictive value.