EXPLORING THE ROLE OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN PREECLAMPSIA AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PREGNANT WOMEN.

INTRODUCTION

Preeclampsia (PE), a major cause of maternal and fatal morbidity and mortality, affects 4-5% of human pregnancies, characterized by elevated blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 weeks.

OBJECTIVE

The current study sought to investigate a potential link between high CRP levels and the probability of pregnant women to develop PE.

METHODS

The study involved 50 pregnant women with PE symptoms and 30 control women without symptoms, collecting serum samples and data via questionnaire.

RESULTS

The most common age group for this study was 31 to 40 years. The majority of the studied women belong to ethnic groups of Northern Sudan ancestry (52%). The majority of women in the pre-eclampsia group were in their third trimester (54%). Among the fifty women with PE, 35 (70%) tested positive for CRP, while 15 (30%) tested negative. Four (13.3%) participants in the control group tested positive for CRP, while 26 (86.6%) were negative.

CONCLUSION

This study concluded that C-reactive protein (CRP) serves as a valuable predictive marker for the onset of PE. The strong correlation between CRP levels and the incidence of PE suggests that monitoring CRP could help identify women at higher risk for this condition. Additionally, the link between CRP presence and the number of prior PE cases indicates that women who have experienced PE in previous pregnancies may be more susceptible to recurrence, with CRP potentially aiding in early detection. The study discovered no significant effect of ethnic group on the development of pre-eclampsia.