Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
5 years ago

sFlt-1 and PlGF kinetics during and after pregnancy in women with suspected or confirmed preeclampsia

Roos Geensen, Johannes J. Duvekot, Jan A. H. Danser, Eric A. P. Steegers, Willy Visser, Aslihan Kaya, Henk Russcher, Koen Verdonk, Langeza Saleh, Jeanine E. Roeters van Lennep, Anton H. van den Meiracker
Objectives To assess the evolution of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in women with suspected or with confirmed preeclampsia and to investigate the changes in sFlt-1 and PlGF levels in preeclamptic women after delivery. Methods In this exploratory tertiary referral university centre study, using the Roche Diagnostics Elecsys assay, sFlt-1 and PlGF were determined in two groups of patients. In the first group of 46 patients with suspected or confirmed preeclampsia, sFlt-1 and PlGF were measured at least twice during their pregnancy. Women had singleton pregnancies and a median pregnancy duration of 26 weeks (range 18 – 40 weeks). In the second group, sFlt-1 and PlGF of 26 preeclamptic patients were determined before and after delivery. The median gestational age at inclusion was 29 weeks (16 – 37) and the median days between antepartum measurement and delivery was 2 days (1 – 7). Results In the first group, 90% of patients with a sFlt-1/PlGF ratio ≤38 at baseline (n = 30), ruling out PE, the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio remained stable for up to 100 days. In 16 patients with a sFlt-1/PlGF ratio >38 and in 10% of those with a sFlt-1/PlGF ratio <38 at baseline the ratio increased further. In the second group, after delivery, sFlt-1 dropped to <1% of its pre-delivery values with a half-life of 1.4 ± 0.3 days, while PlGF dropped to ≈ 30% of its pre-delivery values with a half-life of 3.7 ± 4.3 days. Conclusions Based on this small cohort, up to 10% of women admitted with suspected or confirmed PE presenting with a sFlt-1/PlGF ratio ≤38 display a rise of this sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in subsequent weeks, implying that repeated determination of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio is required to reject this condition definitively. Furthermore, the rapid and pronounced decline of sFlt-1 values after delivery in patients with PE/HELLP suggests that sFlt-1, in contrast with PlGF, is almost entirely placenta-derived.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/uog.17547

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