Elabela as a predictive biomarker for placenta accreta spectrum: a case-control study.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a significant obstetric complication associated with severe maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Accurate prenatal diagnosis of PAS is crucial for optimizing management and improving outcomes.
• Current diagnostic methods have limitations, necessitating the search for novel biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate maternal serum Elabela (ELA) levels in pregnancies affected by PAS.
• To determine the association between ELA levels and PAS severity.
• To assess the potential of ELA as a predictive biomarker for adverse obstetric outcomes in PAS.

Main Methods:

• A prospective case-control study involving 88 pregnant women (44 with PAS, 44 controls).
• Maternal serum ELA levels were quantified using ELISA.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression were employed to evaluate diagnostic performance and predictive value.

Main Results:

• Significantly higher median ELA levels were observed in the PAS group compared to controls (p < 0.001).
• The ROC curve analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.721, indicating moderate diagnostic performance.
• An optimal cut-off value of 2488.75 pg/mL demonstrated 70.5% sensitivity and 75.0% specificity for PAS prediction.

Conclusions:

• Elevated maternal serum ELA levels are significantly associated with placenta accreta spectrum.
• ELA shows potential as a non-invasive biomarker for the prenatal identification of PAS.
• Further large-scale studies are recommended to validate ELA's diagnostic utility in PAS management.