A correlation between maternal serum ferritin and severity of preeclampsia

Abstract EN

Serum ferritin is elevated in a variety of conditions associated with non-utilization of iron and destruction of tissues such as in hemolytic anemia, hepatic damage, inflammation and neoplasm.

Subclinical hepatic damage is known to occur in pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and eclampsia and this is reflected by elevated liver enzymes.

The hepatic damage may result in the leakage of ferritin into the circulation resulting in hyperferritinemia, more so in eclampsia duo to the acute damage.

Aim of the work : to establish whether a single measurement of maternal serum ferritin has a correlation with the severity of the disease in patients presenting with preeclampsia in the third trimester of pregnancy using mean arterial pressure (MAP) as an indicator of the severity of the disease.

Patients : 80 pregnant women during the third trimester of which 30woen were normotensive pregnant with no medical or obstetrical disorders, and the remaining 50 were patients diagnosed with preeclampsia.

Methods : a comparison of the levels of serum ferritin in cases with preeclampsia and normotensive pregnant ladies by chemiluminescent immunometric assay.

Conclusion : serum ferritin may be used as marker for prediction of the severity of preeclampsia, which can have an impact on the management of both mother and fetus, however, further studies are recommended to ensure its role in detection of the severity of preeclampsia.