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Serial serum ferritin estimation in pregnant women at risk of preterm labor
Anupam Goel1, Vanita Jain, Indu Gupta
1Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Background:
To estimate serial serum ferritin (SF) concentrations after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women at risk of having a preterm labor 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. Samples were analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb), leukocyte count, hemotocrit 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.
