Clinical usefulness of angiogenic factors in women with chronic kidney disease and suspected superimposed preeclampsia.

Background: Preeclampsia is a condition often superimposed to CKD.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with suspected superimposed preeclampsia, stratified according to the degree of their angiogenic imbalance, as assessed by the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)/placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we studied 171 pregnancies in patients with CKD and with suspected superimposed preeclampsia, admitted to a teaching hospital.

Soluble Endoglin and Uterine Artery Flow Doppler Ultrasonography as Markers of Progression to Preeclampsia in Women with Gestational Hypertension.

Introduction: Gestational hypertension (GH) pregnancies are at a high risk of developing adverse outcomes, including progression to preeclampsia. Prediction of GH-related adverse outcomes is challenging because there are no available clinical tests that may predict their occurrence.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the clinical usefulness of the soluble endoglin (sEng) and parameters of uterine artery flow (UtAF) measured by Doppler ultrasonography as markers of progression to preeclampsia in women with GH.

Interleukin-6 in Amniotic Fluid: A Reliable Marker for Adverse Outcomes in Women in Preterm Labor and Intact Membranes.

Introduction: Amniotic fluid (AF) interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration has been associated to preterm delivery and perinatal morbidity and mortality in women with preterm labor and intact membranes. Nevertheless, the clinical significance of this biomarker of intra-amniotic inflammation (IAI) is still unclear due in part to the paucity of large studies.

Methods: AF IL-6 concentrations were determined in 452 consecutive women with preterm labor and intact membranes, categorized into 3 groups: 302 without IAI (IL-6 of <2.

Usefulness of the sFlt-1/PlGF (Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1/Placental Growth Factor) Ratio in Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis in Women With Clinical Diagnosis of Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is characterized by angiogenic imbalance (AI), sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1)/PlGF (placental growth factor) is useful for its diagnosis and prediction of adverse outcomes, but the relationship among the degrees of AI as assessed by this ratio with the correct diagnosis, clinical characteristics, and outcomes in women with clinical diagnosis of preeclampsia are unclear. We studied 810 women with clinical diagnosis of preeclampsia. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on their degree of AI, evaluated by the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio: no AI (≤38), mild AI (>38-<85), and severe AI (≥85).