A 32 weeks pregnant woman presented with intermittent abdominal pain and vaginal discharge, on analysis of the cervicovaginal discharge showed fibronectin. What is the probable diagnosis?
High-Yield Explanation
Fibronectin is a glycoprotein normally present in cervical and vaginal secretions before 22 and after 37 weeks.It is the cement for the fusion of the chorioamniotic membranes with the decidua, a process that is completed after 22 weeks of gestation The biochemical marker of activation of the fetal membranes is the leakage of fetal fibronectin from the uterine membranes into the cervicovaginal secretions. At any other time its presence is predictive of preterm bih in symptomatic and asymptomatic high-risk women.