{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T02:10:40Z","timestamp":1760148640574,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,25]],"date-time":"2023-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1684972800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JPM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Preterm labor and delivery remain a major problem in obstetrics accounting for perinatal morbidity and mortality. The challenge is to identify those with true preterm labor to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. The fetal fibronectin (FFN) test is a strong predictor of preterm birth and can help identify women with true preterm labor. However, its cost-effectiveness as a strategy for triaging women with threatened preterm labor is still debatable. Objective: To evaluate the effect of FFN test implementation on hospital resources by reducing the admission rate of threatened preterm labor in a tertiary hospital, Latifa Hospital, UAE. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation who attended Latifa Hospital in the period of September 2015\u2013December 2016, complaining of threatened preterm labor after the availability of an FFN test, and a historical cohort study for those who attended with threatened preterm labor before the availability of an FFN test. Data analysis was performed using a Kruskal\u2013Wallis test, Kaplan\u2013Meier, Fischer exact chi-square and cost analysis. The significance was set at p-value &lt; 0.05. Results: In total, 840 women met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled. The relative risk of FFN for delivery at term was 4.35 times higher among the negative-tested compared to preterm delivery (p-value &lt; 0.001). A total of 134 (15.9%) women were unnecessarily admitted (FFN tested negative, delivered at term) which yielded $107,000 in extra costs. After the introduction of an FFN test, a 7% reduction of threatened preterm labor admissions was recorded.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jpm13060894","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,26]],"date-time":"2023-05-26T02:05:44Z","timestamp":1685066744000},"page":"894","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Using Fetal Fibronectin Test to Reduce Hospital Admissions with Diagnosis of Preterm Labor: An Economic Evaluation Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3015-6570","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bedayah","family":"Amro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Latifa Women and Children Hospital, Dubai P.O. Box 9115, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2126-8586","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iman","family":"Alhalabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Latifa Women and Children Hospital, Dubai P.O. Box 9115, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anila","family":"George","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Quality and Corporate Development Office, Latifa Women and Children Hospital, Dubai P.O. Box 9115, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hanan","family":"Haroun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory Dept, Latifa Women and Children Hospital, Dubai P.O. Box 9115, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8518-3066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amar Hassan","family":"Khamis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Building 14, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nadia Al","family":"Sawalhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Latifa Women and Children Hospital, Dubai P.O. Box 9115, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1325","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2004.12.055","article-title":"The epidemiology of threatened preterm labor: A prospective cohort study","volume":"192","author":"McPheeters","year":"2005","journal-title":"Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1196","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1471-0528.2011.03010.x","article-title":"Trends in preterm birth: Singleton and multiple pregnancies in the Netherlands, 2000\u20132007","volume":"118","author":"Schaaf","year":"2011","journal-title":"BJOG Int. J. Obstet. 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