Prediction of preeclampsia: Liver function tests during the first 20 gestational weeks

Elad Mei-Dan*, Arnon Wiznitzer, Ruslan Sergienko, Mordechai Hallak, Eyal Sheiner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy can predict preeclampsia in the second half of pregnancy. Methods: The study population included 150,10 registered births. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to describe the relationship between different values of AST and ALT during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy in the prediction of preeclampsia. Results: Using ROC curve analyses, elevated ALT levels were significantly associated with both mild preeclampsia (p < 0.001) and severe preeclampsia (p = 0.032). However, an ALT level of 50 IU/L had a sensitivity of only 3.3% (despite a specificity of 97%) in the prediction of severe preeclampsia. While no significant association was noted between AST levels and mild preeclampsia (p = 0.669), elevated levels of AST during this period were significantly associated with severe preeclampsia (p = 0.027). However, AST of 50I U/L had a sensitivity of only 2.0% (despite a specificity of 98%) in the prediction of severe preeclampsia. Conclusions: Higher levels of the liver enzymes AST and ALT during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy are associated with higher risk for the development of severe preeclampsia in the second half of the pregnancy. Nevertheless, there is no clinical cutoff value that can be practically used for the prediction of preeclampsia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)250-253
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alanine transaminase
  • Aspartate transaminase
  • Preeclampsia

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