Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy and circulating markers of thrombin generation.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if subjects experiencing acute vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy have increased plasma markers of thrombin generation compared to nonbleeding controls.

METHODS

Subjects with clinically apparent acute (within 24 h of sample collection) vaginal bleeding between 6 and 20 weeks estimated gestational age and without known thrombophilias were enrolled, along with nonbleeding controls, and underwent collection of maternal plasma. Concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) and fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differences between bleeding and nonbleeding subjects were assessed through linear regression with adjustment for gestational age.

RESULTS

Twenty subjects with vaginal bleeding and 20 controls were included. Bleeding was significantly associated with increased concentrations of TAT (p = 0.007) and F1 + 2 (p = 0.044) when corrected for gestational age. Among bleeding subjects, there was no association between markers of thrombin generation and the subject's description of bleeding quantity, though higher concentrations were associated with a longer self-reported duration of bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinically apparent vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy is associated with increased circulating maternal markers of thrombin generation. Thus, these maternal markers may have a future role in risk stratification.