Doctors can now better predict preterm birth dangers, thanks to the researchers from King's College London, who invented a predictive tool that can be used to assess certain risks of preterm birth. As of this writing, the app is only available for iOS.
The QUiPP app was tested into two separate studies with more than 1,600 pregnant participants. The first one focused on patients who were exhibiting early signs of labor while the other worked on women who were identified to have increased risks of preterm labor.
After a series of tests, including the fetal fibronectin test, experts concluded that the app was far more accurate than any other predictive method used on its own. Since then, the team believes that it can greatly contribute positive results in terms of care.
However, Professor Andrew Sherman, who's leading the team for the development of QUiPP app, admitted that further evaluations are needed to be carried out before they can say that the latest invention is a reliable solution that can accurately detect a legitimate risk of preterm birth.
"It can be difficult to accurately assess a woman's risk, given that many women who show symptoms of preterm labor do not go on to deliver early," Sherman said in an interview with News Medical.
"The more accurately we can predict her risk, the better we can manage a woman's pregnancy to ensure the safest possible birth for her and her baby, only intervening when necessary to admit these 'higher risk' women to hospital, prescribe steroids or offer other treatments to try to prevent an early birth," he further explained.
Researchers started the development of the app after they found out that some of the 15 million people worldwide were born preterm every year. And majority of those cases have complications, which can be fatal for the child. Thus, the experts want to improve their safety measures to ensure the safety of both mothers and infants.
