PREDICTIVE VALUE OF MATERNAL SERUM C- REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS WITH SEVERITY OF PREECLAMPSIA

Background & objectives: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertension disorder of pregnancy that develop in 4-5% . Elevated blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 weeks of conception characterizing the disease. Its complication including a major cause of morbidity and mortality to mother and fetus. increased C-reactive protein (CRP) level and inflammatory cytokines in PE women have been noted.. CRP is considerd a sensitive inflammatory marker in the body as its level increases in response to inflammation due to infection or tissue injury. correlated levels of CRP with severity of preeclampsia and determination of CRP levels in maternal serum in the 3rd trimester of pregnant women proved of great value in predicting preeclampsia prognosis. Authers used Proteinuria and blood pressures as parameters for severity of PE. Aim of the work: of this study was to investigate C-reactive protein (CRP) level in preeclampsia (PE) and its correlation with the severity of the disease. Material &methodes: This case control study included 15 women with mild PE, 15 women with severe PE, and 15 healthy pregnant women. They were selected in the third trimester of their pregnancy in Faculty of Medicine Zagazig University Hospital during the period from August 2013 to June 2014. blood pressure and level of proteinuria were used as indicators of the severity of the disease. The results were analyzed by t-test and spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results of this study concerning levels of CRP revealed a highly statistically significant increase (p < 0.001) in serum of both mild pre-eclamptic women (group A) (median - range: 15 [7.1-30.] mg/L), and severe pre-eclamptic women (group B) (median- range : 43.1 [16.00-53.00] mg/L) when compared to their matched controls (group C) (median - range: 1.80[0.8-3.20] mg/L). There were significant correlations between serum CRP levels and Systolic blood pressure (r= 0.643, p<0.001 )and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.729, p < 0.001) also there was a positive correlation between CRP levels and biochemical parameters as ALT (r = 0.604, p < 0.001), AST(r = 0.632, p < 0.001),, s.uric acid(r = 0.648, p < 0.001), proteinuria( 0.792, p< 0.001), We showed higher levels of CRP in women with PE. Conclusion: high serum CRP levels in patient with preeclampsia , so, correlated with disease severity.