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Updated: May 10, 2026
Electromyometrial Imaging of Uterine Contractions in Pregnant Women
Published on: May 26, 2023
Cost-effectiveness analysis of cervical length measurement and fibronectin testing in women with threatened preterm
Gert-Jan van Baaren1, Jolande Y Vis, William A Grobman
1Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of risk stratification with cervical length (CL) measurement and/or fetal fibronectin (fFN) tests in women with threatened preterm labor between 24 and 34 weeks' gestation.
Study Design:
We performed a model-based cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate 7 test-treatment strategies in women with threatened preterm labor from a health care system perspective. Estimates on disease prevalence, costs, and test accuracy were based on medical literature.
Results:
We found that additional fFN testing in the case of a CL between 10 and 30 mm is cost saving without compromising neonatal health outcomes, compared with a treat-all strategy or single CL testing. Implementing this strategy could lead to an annual cost saving between €2.8 million and €14.4 million in The Netherlands, a country with about 180,000 deliveries annually.
Conclusion:
In women with threatened preterm labor between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation, the most cost-effective test strategy uses a combination of CL and fFN testing.
