Relationship between extreme values of first trimester maternal pregnancy associated plasma Protein-A, free-β-human chorionic gonadotropin, nuchal translucency and adverse pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between extreme values of first trimester screening markers and adverse obstetric outcomes. Materials and methods: Our study was conducted by examining the prenatal and postnatal perinatal records of 786 singleton gestations between the ages of 18–40, who applied to Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşçıoğlu City Hospital outpatient clinics for first-trimester screening for aneuploidy, between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019. Results: The presence of small for gestational age (SGA) was found to be statistically significant for the <5 percentile (<0.37) pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) group (p = 0.016). For <5 percentile β-hCG group, the presence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), premature rupture of membrane (PROM) and preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM) was determined as a statistically significant risk (p = 0.015, p = 0.005, p = 0.02 respectively) In the univariate test, fetal death rate was found to be high for ≥90 percentile at nuchal translucency (NT), but the presence of fetal death was found to be statistically insignificant in logistic regression analysis. (p: 0.057). Conclusion: First trimester screening test can be used in predicting pregnancy complications. In this study we found that serum levels of PAPP-A are associated with developing SGA, while GDM, PROM and PPROM are more common in low serum free β-hCG.

Keywords

• Adverse pregnancy outcomes
• First trimester
• Free-β-human chorionic gonadotropin
• Nuchal translucency
• Pregnancy associated plasma protein-a