Fibronectin as a predictor of preeclampsia: a pilot study.

The measurement of serum fibronectin levels in women carrying a singleton pregnancy at between 25-30 weeks' gestation has allowed the separation of those women who will remain normotensive from those who develop preeclampsia in this pilot study. The fibronectin assays were performed using nephelometry. It is recognized that some severe cases of preeclampsia will have already declared themselves clinically by 28 weeks' gestation, but if a screening test is to be limited by cost to a single test event, then this pilot study suggests the 28-week gestation time to be the most suitable. Further studies are being undertaken to test this hypothesis and to adequately assess the test's reliability, predictability and its cost-effectiveness.