BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is a major public health problem and cervical length measurement using transvaginal ultrasound is the gold standard for predicting its occurrence. However, its cost and the limited availability of equipment and trained sonologists has limited its use only for screening for high risk patients and those with history of preterm birth. Those patients without risk factors are not recommended for routine screening although they constitute the majority of spontaneous preterm deliveries. The newly marked cervicometer, Cervilenz©, an easy-to-use and cheaper device, has been found to be comparable to transvaginal ultrasound in predicting preterm birth and may be used to universally screen all patients regardless of their risk status,however, at present, it is only available in the United Sates.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine if an improvised cervicometer such as the insertion tube of an intrauterine device can also be used as a screening tool for predicting spontaneous preterm birth in uncomplicated pregnancies.
METHODS: The cervical length of 126 patients at 14 to < 37 weeks age of gestation were measured and patients were followed up until delivery.
RESULTS: It was found that those with short cervical length of < 25mm were not an increased risk of preterm birth (p-value > 0.05 at Cl 95%). The negative predictive value was found to be 100%, 95%, 88% at <32, <34, and Cervilenz© studies.
CONCLUSION: An improvised cervicometer such as the insertion tube of an intrauterine device can be used as a screening tool for predicting spontaneous preterm birth in uncomplicated pregnancies.