Serum high sensitivity c-reactive protein, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 and uric acid in pregnancy induced hypertension in a tertiary health centre

Background: Hypertensive disorders are common complications in pregnancy and may be associated with adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. Current research interests focus on the identification of biomarkers with the potential to offer major advances in the diagnosis and management of preeclampsia Objective: To compare maternal serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and uric acid in pregnancy induced hypertensives and normotensive pregnant controls. Method: Prospective case-control study was conducted in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty two subjects with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and 152normotensive control had serum levels of Hs-CRP and sFlt-1were and Uric acid assayed. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 19and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant at confidence interval of 95%. Results: The median serum level of Hs-CRP in preeclampsia was 0.090mg/ml (IQR 0.068, 0.10), gestational hypertension 0.056mg/ml (IQR 0.044, 0.073) and the normotensive 0.040mg/ml (IQR 0.021, 0.06) showed statistically significant difference (P<0.001). The median serum level of sFlt-1in preeclampsia was 4875pg/L (IQR 3266.5, 5703.5), gestational hypertension 1749pg/L (IQR 1639, 1825) and the control 1400.75pg/L (IQR 1480, 1541.75 and also showed statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Uric acid was elevated in all the women with hypertension in pregnancy compared with the controls. Conclusion: Both Hs-CRP and sFlt-1 were elevated in black women with pregnancy induced hypertension.