ABSTRACT Preterm birth (PTB) is the single-most important determinant of infant adverse outcome worldwide, accounting for over 1 million neonatal deaths a year. Given its complex pathophysiology, prediction and prevention of PTB remain elusive. Current screening methods lack accuracy and reliability, and have failed to reduce the incidence and consequences of PTB. Hence, there remains a real need to develop noninvasive and more cost-effective screening tests, which can facilitate earlier identification of women at greatest risk, more timely prevention, and better risk stratification and management of PTB. Spectroscopic techniques have shown great promise to meet this demand. Therefore, in this article, the literature is reviewed to assess current evidence regarding the potential application of spectroscopic techniques to predict PTB via in vitro analysis of biofluids as well as in vivo study of cervical remodeling. In addition, preliminary data exploring the use of Raman spectroscopy (RS) to analyze cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) in pregnancy as a predictive tool for PTB is detailed for the first time with the aim to inform future avenues of research.

中文翻译：

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光谱技术作为潜在的早产筛查工具：回顾和探索性研究

摘要 早产 (PTB) 是全球婴儿不良结局的唯一最重要的决定因素，每年造成超过 100 万新生儿死亡。鉴于其复杂的病理生理学，PTB 的预测和预防仍然难以捉摸。目前的筛查方法缺乏准确性和可靠性，未能降低 PTB 的发生率和后果。因此，仍然需要开发无创且更具成本效益的筛查测试，这可以促进早期识别风险最大的女性、更及时地预防以及更好地对 PTB 进行风险分层和管理。光谱技术已显示出满足这一需求的巨大希望。因此，在本文中，回顾文献以评估关于光谱技术通过生物体液的体外分析以及宫颈重塑的体内研究来预测 PTB 的潜在应用的当前证据。此外，首次详细介绍了使用拉曼光谱 (RS) 分析妊娠期宫颈阴道液 (CVF) 作为 PTB 预测工具的初步数据，旨在为未来的研究提供信息。