Re: Fetal Lung Maturity Question
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Mon Feb 7 20:12:28 2000
and what was the result of the tap? seems to me you've stated your
indication - elective delivery and uncertain dates.
a fellow once told me that medicine is like life - no always and no
nevers.
art
At Mon, 07 Feb 00, steve wrote:
>
>> Of course that's what I'm saying!
>>
>> If we are faced with delivering a woman because there is some overriding
>> maternal or fetal consideration we either deliver or we give steroids and
>> then deliver!
>>
>> I seem to recall another post in this thread implied that the presence of
>> diabetes was an unreliable predictor of fetal lung maturity (though the
>> received wisdom is that diabetics have babes with retarded lung maturity).
>>
>> If I had a 34 weeker with severe pre-eclampsia and a major placental
>> abruption I'd deliver her. If I had a 39 weeker with no evidence of fetal
>> or maternal compromise I'd leave her until 41 weeks:-)
>>
>> I doubt that there is a unit in the UK where they would do an L/S ratio in
>> any circumstance.
>>
>And not only in the UK either. I cannot think of any reason why
>knowing the L/S ratio would influence a decision to deliver - the
>baby either needs to be out or it doesn't and this has nothing to do
>with lung maturity. I hadn't done an amnio for about six years -
>until last week when I had a new intake of interns and junior
>residents. I felt the need to demonstrate the technique in answer to
>a question from one of them about how it was done. Looking back
>now I guess it was somewhat foolish to perform a test without an
>indication - though there was some conflict about her dates and
>she had come in for an elective C/S for two previous caesars.
>
>--
>Steve Raymond
>Dr. S.H. Raymond
>Head of Department of O & G
>Empangeni Hospital
>EMPANGENI
>South Africa 3880
>Ph. (27)+(35)7721111
>Fax (27)+(35)7922596
>
--
art fougner, md
and what am i gonna do with all this food, bottled water,
and gasoline now that armageddon was called off for lack
of interest?
