Abstract
Seventeen samples of amniotic fluid were analyzed by GC-MS-COMP techniques to establish a normal profile of LMW volatile organic compounds. All specimens were obtained by amniocentesis done for evaluation of fetal lung maturity. Of the 15 women undergoing amniocentesis prior to C-section, 11 had normal pregnancies, 2 had a history of hypertension, 1 a history of epilepsy (on medication) and 1 (not on medication) had CA-in-situ of the cervix and a history of one convulsive episode. The GC profiles were qualitatively reproducible in all samples except the 2 from the women with convulsions. These 2 showed an extra, still unidentified, GC peak not seen in any other sample. Of the 13 pregnancies with similar GC profiles, all infants were apparently normal at birth except for an Rh-affected infant. Of the 2 pregnancies with the extra GC peak, one infant died of a hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the other was apparently normal. Mass spectral data thus far has tentatively identified acetone, dichloromethane, hexane, methylcyclopropane, toluene. These data demonstrate the reproducibility of a “normal profile” of LMW volatile organics in amniotic fluid. The possibility exists that abnormalities in these compounds may be associated with certain disease states. The potential of the GC-MS-COMP methodology as a future clinical diagnostic tool appears worthy of further investigation.
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Schuth, C., Dowty, B., Korndorffer, F. et al. 211 GAS CHROMATOGRAPHIC-MASS SPECTROMETRIC-COMPUTER (GC MS-COMP) ANALYSIS OF LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT (LMW) ORGANICS IN AMNIOTIC FLUID. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 399 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00216
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00216