Pregnancy outcomes in correlation with placental histopathology in subsequent pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia

Objective: In attempt to deepen our understanding of the etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia we aimed to study the placental component and pregnancy outcomes in two consecutive pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia in the same patient. Study design: Pregnancy and placental reports of all pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia between 2008 and 2018 were reviewed. Included were only cases with recurrent preeclampsia in two consecutive pregnancies Neonatal outcomes and placental histopathology were compared between the first preeclampsia delivery (first preeclampsia group) and the subsequent preeclampsia delivery (subsequent preeclampsia group), thus each subject served as her own control in two consecutive pregnancies. Placental lesions were classified according to the current “Amsterdam” criteria. Adverse neonatal outcome was defined as ≥1 early neonatal complication. Results: Included in the study a total of 83 cases with recurrent preeclampsia. The first preeclampsia group delivered at an earlier gestational age (35.7 ± 3.7 vs. 36.8 ± 3.1 weeks, p = 0.03) and had higher rates of severe features (44.6% vs. 25.3%, p = 0.03), placental weight <10th percentile (44.5% vs. 26.5%, p = 0.02), maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) lesions (84.3% vs. 62.6%, p = 0.002), SGA (44.5% vs. 33.7%, p = 0.03), and adverse neonatal outcome (55.4% vs. 34.9%,p = 0.01), compared to the subsequent preeclampsia group. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, severe features (aOR = 1.36, 95%CI = 1.12–2.36), MVM lesions (aOR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.04–1.87) and adverse neonatal outcome (aOR = 1.26 95%CI = 1.14–2.23) were found to be independently associated with the first preeclampsia group. Conclusion: The first event of preeclampsia is characterized by an earlier, more severe presentation, as well as a higher rate of MVM lesions, SGA, and adverse neonatal outcome, compared to preeclampsia in a subsequent pregnancy.