[Evaluation of antenatal monitoring of unconjugated estriol in the saliva].

A new radioimmunoassay kit for unconjugated salivary estriol (SE 3) determination was used to monitor 497 fetuses in late pregnancy, 217 normal and 280 at high-risk. The SE 3 values of normal pregnancy were also measured in 1378 cases at 20th to 41st gestational week. The normal concentration weekly was established. The results were 1. The false negative and false positive rate of SE3 were 2.0% and 0.6%, respectively; thus the correct rate of SE3 in prenatal prediction of fetal well-being was 97.4%, similar to that of serum E3 (95.6%, P greater than 0.05) and significantly higher than that of overnight 12-hour urine E3/C (84%, P less than 0.05). 2. There were 8 fetal deaths of 11 cases with lower SE3, whereas, only one death due to nuchal cord in the 486 with normal SE3, and no perinatal death. It is highly important to collect saliva and measure the SE3 correctly in order to guarantee accuracy of the results. The advantages of salivary SE3 assaying are reliable and being more scientific and practical than that of serum E3. We suggest that determination of SE3 may replace serum E3 measurement for assessing fetal-placental well-being.