Reference Intervals for the ratio of Soluble FMS-like Tyrosine Kinase-1 and Placental Growth Factor in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Females in Pakistani Population

Abstract

Introduction: To derive the reference intervals of serum soluble FMS like tyrosine kinase -1/Placental growth factor ratio in pregnant and non-pregnant females. Aims & Objectives: To derive the reference intervals of serum soluble FMS like tyrosine kinase -1/Placental growth factor ratio in pregnant and non-pregnant females. Place and Duration of Study: A comparative Cross-sectional study conducted in department of Chemical Pathology and Immunology, Chughtai Institute of Pathology, Lahore from February 2024 till May 2024 Material & Method: Blood samples from 120 pregnant and 120 non-pregnant females from 14±1 to 27±1 weeks were taken. All participants were of reproductive age group, disease free, non-hypertensive, non-diabetic, without any inherited or autoimmune disorders and not any significant drug history. Levels of placental growth factor (PGF) and soluble FMS like tyrosine kinase -1(sFlt-1) were estimated by Elecsys cobas e601. Data was analysed by SPSS 21. Shapiro-Wilk test and Kolmogorov Smirnov test were applied. p value <0.05 revealed that data findings were non- Gaussian. Reference intervals were calculated by rank-based method. Results: The reference intervals of serum sFlt-1/PGF ratio in non-pregnant females were 5.36 to 18.40 and in pregnant females 0.61 to 24.45 and they were determined on 2.5th and 97.5th centiles using 90% confidence interval. Conclusion: sFlt-1/PGF ratio can act as a predictive biomarker for cardiovascular disease in non-pregnant females and for pre-eclampsia in pregnant females. Current study findings would be helpful for healthcare providers to identify high- risk groups. The identification of low-risk groups results in a shorter duration of hospitalizations with potential economic benefits.

Keywords

• Reference intervals
• sFlt-1/PGF ratio
• pre-eclampsia
• rank based method