title: Evaluation of serum β-hCG and PAPP-A levels in pregnant women at risk of developing preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preeclampsia remains a major problem of modern obstetrics with insufficiently elucidated etiology; early detection would diminish maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to determine the serum values of β-hCG in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and PAPP-A values in the first trimester of pregnancy in pregnant women with risk factors for preeclampsia, in order to evaluate their relevance in the prediction of this disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a prospective longitudinal study on 120 pregnant women divided into two groups according to the evolution of pregnancy: group I - 26 pregnant women who developed preeclampsia and group II - 94 pregnant women who did not develop preeclampsia and had a physiological evolution of pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results indicate the association between high β-hCG levels in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and the development of PE, β-hCG having the highest predictive power in the second trimester. We also obtained a positive association between low serum levels in PAPP-A in the first trimester and onset of PE. The predictive power of conjugated β-hCG and PAPP-A values in the first trimester of pregnancy was better that any other marker analyzed separately.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased β-hCG levels in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and low PAPP-A levels in the second trimester of pregnancy are associated with a higher risk for PE, the study providing only a modest efficiency of the prediction capacity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology II, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela Daniela
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Oancea
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology II, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Nicolae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Costin
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology II, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Daria Maria
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pop
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology II, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Razvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ciortea
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology II, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mihu
keywords: PAPP-A; Preeclampsia; prediction; β-hCG