title: Early detection of preeclampsia by determination of platelet aggregability.
abstract: Preeclampsia is still a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. There is evidence for the involvement of platelets. Therefore, we investigated the suitability of corrected whole blood impedance aggregometry as an early predictor of preeclampsia in 71 consecutive, high-risk pregnancies. According to the occurrence of preeclampsia, defined postpartum by an independent investigator, and the stage of pregnancy (early and late, cutoff: 25 weeks of gestation), four study groups were defined. Platelet aggregation data were corrected for the influence of hematocrit and platelet count by a special purpose software package. Women developing preeclampsia showed significantly higher platelet aggregation response compared to controls in early and late pregnancy. In early pregnancy, all women developing preeclampsia had aggregation responses to collagen higher than the highest responses among the controls. Hence, this test had a 100% positive predictive value of subsequent preeclampsia. Despite being significantly increased, platelet aggregability was of minor predictive value in late pregnancy. We conclude that preeclampsia is accompanied by exaggerated platelet aggregability, particularly perceptible early in the course of pregnancy. We propose collagen-induced whole blood platelet aggregation with correction for the influence of hematocrit and platelet count for early detection of preeclampsia.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anaesthesia and General Intensive Care, University of Vienna, A-1090, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Felfernig-Boehm
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salat
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Vogl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murabito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Felfernig
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittlboeck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Husslein
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third
chemical_list: D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate; D003094:Collagen