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Review
. 2025 Apr 11:16:1445757.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1445757. eCollection 2025.

Overview of detection methods of fetomaternal haemorrhage

Affiliations
Review

Overview of detection methods of fetomaternal haemorrhage

Xinyang Li et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Fetomaternal haemorrhage is the same immunity that occurs when foetal and maternal blood are incompatible. It is critical to accurately quantify maternal haemorrhaging in order to prevent hemolytic disease in the infant. At this time, the rosette test and K-B test are the most frequently used techniques for detecting foetal red blood cells in the mother's blood. However, the sensitivity of the rosette test is low, and due to its complex operation and high subjectivity, the K-B test cannot be used as a routine clinical detection method. This review therefore focuses primarily on the clinical landscape and future prospects of methods for detecting fetomaternal haemorrhage. In a general sense, this may bring to light the most promising strategy and encourage the development of technology for fetomaternal haemorrhage in order to guarantee the early detection and prevention of hemolytic disease in newborns.

Keywords: detection method; fetal hemoglobin; fetomaternal haemorrhage (FMH); flow cytometry; hemolytic disease in newborns (HDN).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Diagrammatic representation of two microcolumn gel detection systems for fetomaternal haemorrhage. The red line indicates that, during the incubation phase, anti-D antibodies are applied to the washed maternal cells; RhD (+) foetal cells, if present, absorb the antibodies. Using an indirect anti-human globulin assay on standardised R2R2 cells, the residual anti-D in the supernatant was evaluated following incubation and centrifugation. Positive degree in the second stage provides a semi-quantitative indication of the quantity of anti-D consumed (i.e., binding to foetal cells in the first stage). A greater number of RhD (+) foetal cells (i.e., larger FMH) were present in the maternal sample, as indicated by the weaker reaction, which suggested that more anti-D was absorbed in the initial stage. An emerging particle gel immunoassay (PaGIA) for the quantification of FMH (FMH-PaGIA) is denoted by the blue line. ETDTA anticoagulant samples from D-negative pregnant women were combined with superparamagnetic particles that had been coated with monoclonal anti-D. Particles which have been separated using a magnetic particle concentrator are then placed in the gel card’s reaction chamber. The presence of D (+) cells, as indicated by agglutination particles or agglutination particles scattered across the gel matrix.

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