Patient's question:
What tests should be done to know whether the function of the placenta is good or bad?Doctor's answer:
Hello, the commonly used methods for checking placental function include:(1) Measuring the level of estriol in 24-hour urine or the estrogen (E) to creatinine (C) ratio.
(2) Determining the level of human placental lactogen (hPL) in the blood.
(3) Vaginal smear. If the placental function is good, there will be a large number of clustered ship-shaped cells, with an eosinophilic cell index of <10%, and few dense nuclei. In cases of placental dysfunction, pregnancy ship-shaped cells may disappear or be minimal, while surface cells increase, the eosinophilic cell index reaches >10%, and the dense nucleus index reaches >20%.
(4) The atropine test. This primarily measures the permeability function of the placenta. Atropine can accelerate fetal heart rate. If the placental permeability function is good, after the mother is injected with atropine, the fetal heart rate will accelerate within a short time, and the drug can be excreted from the placenta within the specified time. Therefore, the fetal heart rate response can be used to assess placental function.