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Updated: Dec 29, 2025
The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo
Published on: August 2, 2017
Placental Growth Factor and the Risk of Adverse Neonatal and Maternal Outcomes
Jacqueline G Parchem1, Clifton O Brock, Han-Yang Chen
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), and the Department of Cancer Biology, Metastasis Research Center, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; and Baptist Health Lexington, Lexington, Kentucky.
Objective:
To evaluate whether abnormal plasma placental growth factor (PlGF) level is associated with adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes.
Methods:
This was a secondary analysis of the Preeclampsia Triage by Rapid Assay Trial (PETRA), a prospective, multicenter, observational study that enrolled women with suspected preeclampsia. Our analysis included women age 18-45 years with a singleton pregnancy between 20 and 41 weeks of gestation. Plasma collected at enrollment was used for PlGF measurement. Abnormal PlGF was defined as low (100 pg/mL or less) or very low (less than 12 pg/mL). The primary outcomes were composite adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes. We used multivariable Poisson regression models to examine the association between PlGF and outcomes.
Results:
Of 1,112 women who met the inclusion criteria, plasma PlGF was low in 742 (67%) and very low in 353 (32%). In the cohort, the overall rates of the composite adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes were 6.4% and 4.8%, respectively. Compared with normal PlGF (more than 100 pg/mL), low PlGF was significantly associated with an increased risk of the composite neonatal outcome (9.2% vs 0.8%; adjusted relative risk [aRR] 17.2, 95% CI 5.2-56.3), and the composite maternal outcome (6.2% vs 1.9%; aRR 3.6, 95% CI 1.7-8.0). Very low PlGF was also significantly associated with both neonatal and maternal outcomes. The sensitivity and specificity of low PlGF were 95.8% and 35.3%, respectively, for the composite neonatal outcome, and 86.8% and 34.3% for the composite maternal outcome. Although the positive predictive values were low (9.2% and 6.2%, respectively), the negative predictive value of low PlGF for neonatal and maternal outcomes was 99.2% and 98.1%, respectively.
Conclusion:
Among women being evaluated for preeclampsia, those with abnormal PlGF are significantly more likely to experience adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes. These outcomes occur infrequently when the PlGF is normal. These findings suggest that PlGF may be useful for risk stratification of women with suspected preeclampsia.
Funding Source:
No funding was received for this study. The original PETRA study was supported by funding from Alere.
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