[Elastase of polymorphonuclear granulocytes. Determination in plasma in pregnancy and following premature rupture of the membranes].

Between May and October 1984 in the Department of Obstetrics of the Frauenklinik Berlin-Neukölln, 147 blood samples were taken from 106 women who were pregnant or already in labor. The purpose was to determine the concentration of the elastase of the polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Towards the end of pregnancy (from the beginning of the 28th gestational week till birth of the child), the range of 66 ng/ml-122 ng/ml with a median of 92 ng/ml was considered normal. It was shown that the concentration of elastase in the plasma of pregnant women is affected neither by the increasing gestational age nor by such pregnancy-associated diseases as the following: fetal hypotrophy, cervix insufficiency, premature onset of labor, or gestational diabetes. In addition, the elastase concentration in pregnant women who had had a premature rupture of the membranes was determined. The values were compared with other clinical and laboratory infection parameters, such as temperature, the total number of leukocytes as well as the number of rod-shaped leukocytes, and the duration of the opening of the membranes. The results indicated that under 135 ng/ml, there is most likely no infection present. Elastase concentrations between 135 ng/ml and 180 ng/ml lie in the pre-pathological range, concentrations above 180 ng/ml nearly always indicate the presence of an infection.