International clinical guidelines agree on the benefits and harmful effects of several important interventions to prevent preterm birth.

We have identified wide variation in the diagnostic accuracy of various antenatal tools for the prediction of both SGA and APO, dependent on the choice of chart. Suboptimal diagnostic accuracy of commonly used antenatal tests may lead to increasing medicalization without prevention of APO. Researchers should focus their attention on a combination of fetal biometry and biomarkers for better prediction of SGA and prevention of APO. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Objective To assess the association between vaginal microbiome (VMB) composition and recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB)/preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM). Design Nested case–control study. Setting UK tertiary referral hospital. Sample High‐risk women with previous sPTB/PPROM <34+0 weeks’ gestation who had a recurrence (n = 22) or delivered at ≥37+0 weeks without PPROM (n = 87). Methods Vaginal swabs collected between 15 and 22 weeks’ gestation were analysed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and 16S quantitative PCR. Main outcome measure Recurrent early sPTB/PPROM. Results Of the 109 high‐risk women, 28 had anaerobic vaginal dysbiosis, with the remainder dominated by lactobacilli (Lactobacillus iners 36/109, Lactobacillus crispatus 23/109, or other 22/109). VMB type and diversity were not associated with recurrence. Women with a recurrence, compared to those without, had a higher median vaginal bacterial load (8.64 versus 7.89 log10 cells/mcl, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.90, 95% CI 1.01–3.56, P = 0.047) and estimated Lactobacillus concentration (8.59 versus 7.48 log10 cells/mcl, aOR 2.35, (95% CI 1.20–4.61, P = 0.013). A higher recurrence risk was associated with higher median bacterial loads for each VMB type after stratification, although statistical significance was reached only for L. iners domination (aOR 3.44, 95% CI 1.06–11.15, P = 0.040). Women with anaerobic dysbiosis or L. iners domination had a higher median vaginal bacterial load than women with a VMB dominated by L. crispatus or other lactobacilli (8.54, 7.96, 7.63, and 7.53 log10 cells/mcl, respectively). Conclusions Vaginal bacterial load is associated with early sPTB/PPROM recurrence. Domination by lactobacilli other than L. iners may protect women from developing high bacterial loads. Future PTB studies should quantify vaginal bacteria and yeasts. Tweetable abstract Increased vaginal bacterial load in the second trimester may be associated with recurrent early spontaneous preterm birth.

Objective The QUiPP algorithm combines cervical length, quantitative fetal fibronectin (qfFN) and medical history to quantify risk of preterm birth. We assessed the utility of QUiPP to inform preterm birth prevention treatment decisions. Design A prospective cohort study with a subsequent impact assessment using the QUiPP risk of birth before 34 weeks’ gestation. Setting A UK tertiary referral hospital. Sample In all, 119 women with previous spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) or preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) before 34 weeks’ gestation. Methods Cervical length and qfFN were measured at 19+0 to 23+0 weeks’ gestation. Clinical management was based on history and cervical length. After birth, clinicians were unblinded to qfFN results and QUiPP analysis was undertaken. Main outcome measures Predictive statistics of QUiPP algorithm using 10% risk of sPTB before 34+0 weeks as treatment threshold. Results Fifteen of 119 women (13%) had PPROM or sPTB before 34 weeks. Of these, 53% (8/15) had QUiPP risk of sPTB before 34+0 weeks above 10%. Applying this treatment threshold in practice would have doubled our treatment rate (20 versus 42%). QUIPP threshold of 10% had positive likelihood ratio (LR) of 1.3 (95% CI 0.76–2.18), and negative LR of 0.8 (95% CI 0.45–1.40) for predicting sPTB before 34+0 weeks. Conclusions Use of the QUiPP algorithm in this population may lead to substantial increase in interventions without evidence that currently available treatment options are beneficial for this particular group. Tweetable abstract Independent study finds that the QUiPP algorithm could lead to substantial increases in treatment without evidence of benefit.