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Diagnostic accuracy of sFlt1/PlGF ratio as a marker for preeclampsia
Pooneh Nikuei1, Minoo Rajaei2, Nasibeh Roozbeh3
1Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Pooneh.Nikuei@hums.ac.ir.
Insights
The soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) to placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio effectively diagnoses preeclampsia (PE). This biomarker shows high accuracy in distinguishing PE patients from healthy pregnancies.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of maternal and neonatal mortality worldwide.
- Accurate biomarkers are crucial for early PE detection and complication reduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for preeclampsia detection.
- To assess the utility of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in differentiating PE from normal pregnancies.
Main Methods:
- Study included 23 mild PE, 15 severe PE patients, and 20 controls.
- sFlt-1 and PlGF levels were measured.
- Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine diagnostic accuracy.
Main Results:
- The mean sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was significantly higher in PE patients (91.33 ng/mL) than controls (17.62 ng/mL).
- ROC analysis yielded an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.90 for the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.
- The optimal cut-off value of 24.96 demonstrated 84.2% sensitivity and 85.0% specificity.
Conclusions:
- The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy for preeclampsia.
- The ratio is more effective in differentiating PE from non-PE cases than in distinguishing severe or early-onset forms.
Background:
Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious complication of pregnancy and one of the main causes of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in the world. Finding a biomarker with high sensitivity and specificity could lead to prediction and early diagnosis of the disease and reduces its complications. In this study, we evaluated diagnostic accuracy of Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) to Placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio for diagnosis of PE.
Methods:
The cases included 23 mild, 15 severe preeclamptic patients, and 20 normal term pregnant women as control referred to GYN ward of the Persian Gulf Hospital in Bandar Abbas from 2014 to 2016. Levels of sFlt-1 and PlGF were measured. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to calculate diagnostic accuracy of sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.
Results:
The mean Level of sFlt-1/PlGF in PE patients (91.33 ng/ml) was significantly higher than control women (17.62) (P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed sFlt-1/PlGF ratio diagnostic accuracy in preeclamptic patients with Area Under Curve (AUC) of 0.90, the best cut-off value of 24.96, sensitivity and specificity of 84.2 and 85.0%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Our data showed sFlt-1/PlGF ratio has higher accuracy for differentiating PE patients from non-PEs in comparison with its power for differentiating severe or early onset forms of the disease.

