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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Mar:27:103-109.
doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2021.12.001. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in patients affected by COVID-19

Chiara Maria Soldavini  1 , Daniela Di Martino  1 , Elisa Sabattini  1 , Sara Ornaghi  2 , Vittoria Sterpi  1 , Roberta Erra  1 , Francesca Invernizzi  2 , Gabriele Tine'  3 , Valentina Giardini  2 , Patrizia Vergani  4 , Manuela Wally Ossola  1 , Enrico Ferrazzi  5
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in patients affected by COVID-19

Chiara Maria Soldavini et al. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze soluble Fms-like tyrosine Kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) ratio concentrations in COVID-19 pregnant patients with and without Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP), compared with non COVID-19 pregnant patients with HDP and a control group.

Study design: We recruited and obtained a complete follow-up of 19 COVID-19 pregnant patients with HDP and of 24 COVID-19 normotensive pregnant patients. Demographic, clinical and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio findings were compared with a group of 185 non COVID-19 pregnant patients with HDP and 41 non COVID normotensive patients. Findings were based on univariate analysis and on a multivariate adjusted model, and a case by case analysis of COVID-19 pregnant patients with an abnormal sFlt-1/PlGF ratio > 38 at recruitment.

Main outcome measures: sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.

Results: We confirmed a significant higher prevalence of HDP in women affected by COVID-19 compared to control population. sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was found high in HDP patients, with and without of Sars-Cov2 infection. COVID-19 patients with worse evolution of the disease showed greater rates of obesity and other comorbidities. sFlt/PlGF ratio proved not to be helpful in the differential diagnosis of the severity of this infection.

Conclusions: COVID-19 pregnant patients showed a higher prevalence of HDP compared to non COVID-19 controls, as well as higher comorbidity rates. In spite of the possible common endothelial target and damage, between Sars-Cov-2 infection and HDP, the sFlt1/PlGF ratio did not correlate with the severity of this syndrome.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy comorbidities; sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Box-plot and whiskers of Log10 of sFlt-1/PlGF adjusted for maternal age, BMI, and gestational age at recruitment of COVID-19patients (red with HDP, yellow normotensive patients), and non COVID-19patients with HDP (blue). In green, Log10 boxplot and whiskers of control normotensive pregnant women adjusted for the same variables. COVID-19 with HDP vs. COVID-19 normotensive P < 0.02; non COVID-19 with HDP vs all COVID-19p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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