Plasma Fetal Fibronectin Levels in Preeclamptic and Normotensive Pregnancies in Calabar, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

Preeclampsia is a significant cause of maternal and perinatal mortality. Prediction and early diagnosis using a reliable biomarker will prevent its complications.

AIM: To compare the plasma fetal fibronectin levels among preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women.

METHODS

It was a prospective comparative observational study of 78 preeclamptic women and 78 normotensive controls. Following ethical approval, sociodemographic and medical information were obtained from the participants. Blood samples were also collected and analyzed for fetal fibronectin using the Assay Max kit. Data were analyzed using SPSS®. The Student's t-test was used to compare the mean fetal fibronectin levels in preeclamptic and control groups. A P value less < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The mean ages of the preeclamptic and normotensive women were 29.4 and 28.2 years respectively (P = 0.192). The mean plasma fetal fibronectin level for the preeclamptics was 2562.8 µg/ml, while that for the controls was 2440.8 µg/ml (t = 0.278, P = 0.783). The majority (65%) of the participants from both study groups had elevated serum fetal fibronectin levels. There was no significant association between serum fetal fibronectin and having preeclampsia (P = 0.528). There was a significant negative correlation between the mean arterial blood pressure and serum fetal fibronectin levels of normotensive women (r = -0.272, P = 0.016). There was, however, no significant correlation between the mean arterial blood pressure and serum fetal fibronectin levels of the preeclamptics (r = 0.057, P = 0.618).

CONCLUSION

Maternal serum fetal fibronectin levels in preeclamptic are not significantly different from those in normotensive women.