Main clinical analyses on amniotic fluid.
BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: To suggest a series of clinical analyses performable on amniotic fluid, in different medical complications occurring during pregnancy. METHODS: Various methodology, for different obstetrics situations, were compared among them. RESULTS: The main indication for late amniocentesis are the tests for fetal lung maturity. The most broadly accepted is the L/S ratio, which has become the "gold standard", although this chromatographic technique is labor intensive compared to several other procedures proposed and used. CONCLUSIONS: By amniocentesis, accurate fetal diagnosis has become possible. Clinical diagnostic tests are critical for many obstetric situations including premature rupture of membranes, management of pre-eclampsia, prevention of RDS. More recently, the widespread use of amniocentesis has led to study different aspects of fetal metabolism and/or fetal molecules whose functions remain to be established.