Serial serum ferritin estimation in pregnant women at risk of preterm labor
Goel, A.; Jain, V.; Gupta, I.; Varma, N.
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 82(2): 129-132
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-6349 PMID: 12648173 DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0412.2003.00067.xDocument Number: 262669
Background: To estimate serial serum ferritin (SF) concentrations after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women at risk of having a preterm labour and to correlate them with the outcome of pregnancy. Methods: Venous blood samples were drawn serially at 26, 30 and 34 weeks of gestation in one hundred pregnant women who were at risk of having a preterm delivery. The patients were seen at the Nehru Hospital, India. Samples were analysed for haemoglobin (Hb), leukocyte count, haematocrit serum iron (SI), total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), SF and transferrin saturation. Seventy-six subjects delivered at term and 24 subjects delivered before 37 weeks. The various parameters were compared between the term and the preterm groups. Results: Mean SF at different gestations in the term and the preterm group was not statistically different. Serial SF levels in subjects in the term group showed a declining trend with advancing gestation as seen in normal pregnancies. However, in the preterm group, a rising trend was observed. Further, SF levels of >30 micro g/dl at 26 weeks and >40 micro g/dl at 34 weeks were found to have a reasonable sensitivity and specificity for predicting preterm delivery. Conclusion: A SF concentration of >40 micro g/dl and a rise in SF concentration with increasing gestation should alert the clinician regarding the possibility of preterm delivery.