Cervical sliding sign; does it have a contribution in cases of threatened preterm labor in singleton pregnancies with intact membranes?

•The presence of CSS is associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery.•The use of ultrasound markers is cost effective and easy to reproduce.•The contribution of CSS to cervical length seems relatively limited. To investigate the contribution of the cervical sliding sign to conventional cervical length measurement in patients at risk of preterm labor. The study, performed as a prospective cohort study, included patients admitted to a tertiary research hospital with a diagnosis of threatened preterm labor. The participants were divided into two groups: those who gave birth before and after 37 weeks of gestation. The clinical and demographic characteristics, cervical length, presence of a short cervix (SC), and cervical sliding sign (CSS) were compared between the groups. Furthermore, correlation and regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between the presence of a SC, the presence of CSS, and the coexistence of these two findings with preterm delivery, as well as the interval between the symptoms and delivery being less than four weeks. The study included 77 patients who delivered prematurely and 65 patients who delivered at term. The following variables were significantly lower in the preterm delivery group: cervical length, gestational age at delivery, neonatal weight, and time between the first examination and delivery (p = 0.003,