Table 1.
Maternal, fetal and perinatal characteristics of the study population.
| Controls N = 6 |
Preeclampsia N = 14 |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal characteristics | |||
| Age (years) | 36.5 ± 2.9 | 34.1 ± 3.8 | 0.28* |
| Caucasian ethnicity | 5 (83.3) | 6 (42.9) | 0.10ƒ |
| Pre-gestational BMI (kg/m2) | 22.2 ± 2.7 | 24.1 ± 4.1 | 0.38* |
| Nulliparity | 5 (83.3) | 9 (64.3) | 0.39ƒ |
| Previous preeclampsia | 0 (0) | 1 (7.1) | 0.50ƒ |
| Chronic hypertension | 0 (0) | 1 (7.1) | 0.50ƒ |
| Assisted reproductive technologies | 0 (0) | 3 (21.4) | 0.22ƒ |
| Smoking during pregnancy | 1 (16.7) | 1 (7.1) | 0.52ƒ |
| Fetal ultrasound assessment | |||
| Gestational age at assessment (weeks) | 26.6 ± 3.7 | 30.5 ± 2.6 | 0.013* |
| Estimated fetal weight (g) | 994 ± 496 | 1187 ± 328 | 0.30* |
| Estimated fetal weight centile | 34 (29–66) | 1 (0–3) | < 0.001ω |
| Uterine arteries mean PI (z score) | − 0.53 ± 1.77 | 2.60 ± 2.08 | 0.002* |
| Umbilical artery PI (z score) | − 0.40 ± 0.32 | 1.27 ± 1.71 | 0.07* |
| Middle cerebral artery PI (z score) | 0.13 ± 1.09 | − 1.16 ± 0.99 | 0.027* |
| Cerebroplacental ratio (z score) | − 0.06 ± 0.89 | − 1.93 ± 1.6 | 0.027* |
| Ductus venosus PI (z score) | − 1 ± 0.79 | − 0.34 ± 1.29 | 0.44* |
| Maternal biochemical assessment | |||
| Gestational age at blood draw (weeks) | 30 ± 1.8 | 31.3 ± 1.8 | 0.16* |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) | 0.42 ± 0.07 | 0.69 ± 0.17 | 0.001* |
| Urea (mg/dl) | 15.4 ± 4.2 | 40.4 ± 16.7 | 0.002* |
| Sodium (mEq/l) | 138.3 ± 1.2 | 136.4 ± 2.1 | 0.048* |
| Potassium (mEq/l) | 4.13 ± 0.21 | 4.61 ± 0.23 | 0.001* |
| AST (u/l) | 17 (15–23) | 25 (16–48) | 0.16ω |
| ALT (u/l) | 15 (9–21) | 27 (14–65) | 0.07ω |
| GGT (u/l) | 10 (7–11) | 19 (15–28) | 0.013ω |
| Uric acid (mg/dl) | 3.33 ± 0.43 | 6.09 ± 1.25 | < 0.001* |
| Glucose (mg/dl) | 75.5 ± 7.1 | 87.8 ± 19.7 | 0.13* |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl) | 178.8 ± 67.7 | 260.6 ± 97.8 | 0.06* |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 277.2 ± 50.1 | 241.9 ± 54 | 0.16* |
| Fibrinogen (g/l) | 4.57 ± 0.98 | 3.44 ± 1.05 | 0.07* |
| Platelets (103/l) | 271.8 ± 70.6 | 209.1 ± 71.9 | 0.09* |
| Perinatal outcomes | |||
| Gestational age at delivery (weeks) | 40.3 ± 1.1 | 32 ± 1.9 | < 0.001* |
| Cesarean section | 1 (16.7) | 11 (78.6) | 0.018ƒ |
| Male sex | 2 (33.3) | 6 (42.9) | 0.69ƒ |
| Birthweight (g) | 3531 ± 410 | 1287 ± 267 | < 0.001* |
| Birthweight centile | 58 (41–80) | 0 (0–1) | < 0.001ω |
| APGAR score 5 min < 7 | 0 (0) | 1 (7.1) | 0.50ƒ |
| Umbilical artery pH | 7.20 ± 0.07 | 7.20 ± 0.09 | 0.97* |
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation, median (interquartile range) or n (%) as appropriate.
BMI body mass index, PI pulsatility index, AST aspartate aminotransferase, ALT alanine aminotransferase, GGT gamma glutamyl transferase.
P value was calculated by Student’s t (*), Mann Whitney U (ω) or Fisher exact (ƒ) tests as appropriate.