A Prospective Study of Placental Growth Factor Assay as a Novel Biomarker in Predicting Early-Onset Preeclampsia in High-Risk Patients.

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, but signs and symptoms are non-specific and may vary. The root cause is imbalance of circulating angiogenic factors of placental (syncytiotrophoblast) origin, with consequent low levels of placental growth factor (PlGF) which may aid in diagnosis and prediction of disease.

Aims and Objectives: To study the incidence of women at risk of developing early-onset preeclampsia by plasma placental growth factor biomarker assay in high-risk patients, to assess the maternal outcome in patients with PlGF values below cutoff for presenting gestational age, to calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PlGF assay in predicting preeclampsia and to conclude whether PlGF biomarker assay can be an effective screening test in high-risk patients for prediction of early-onset preeclampsia.

Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at a tertiary care center. It is a prospective study, and study period extended from April 2012 to October 2013. One hundred pregnant women with 20- to 34-week gestational age with possible high risk of developing preeclampsia attending the antenatal clinics and high-risk OPDs were screened in the present study after explaining the nature of the study. PLGF concentration was quantitated using plasma and processed in Triage kit device (fluorescence immunoassay device). PLGF concentration was categorized against a specific range for specific gestation, and values below the range or <12 pg/ml were considered screened positives. The cases were followed up till delivery.

Results: Twenty-two cases were screened positive, of which 20 developed preeclampsia with a strong positive prediction value of more than 90 %.

Conclusion: PLGF is a strong predictor and a useful assay for early-onset preeclampsia.

Competing Interests: Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval The study was approved by the research ethics committee of the institution. All the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards.