Objective: To determine the possible association between azurocidin in maternal serum in the first trimester of pregnancy and subsequent spontaneous preterm labor, preterm prelabor rupture of membranes, and iatrogenic preterm delivery.
Methods: Women who underwent first trimester screening for chromosomal abnormalities between January and November 2011 were included in the study, and a sample of maternal serum was obtained. In total, 1905 women were followed-up through the local record system, and 13 women with spontaneous preterm labor, 17 women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), and 16 women with iatrogenic preterm delivery were identified. Twenty-two women with uncomplicated pregnancies who delivered at term were selected as controls. Maternal serum azurocidin levels in women were determined using ELISA.
Result: Women with PPROM had lower azurocidin levels (median 0.91 ng/mL, range 0.2-2.07) than women who delivered at term (median 1.63 ng/mL, range 0.4-10.98; p = 0.02). No differences in azurocidin levels between women with labor at term and those with either spontaneous preterm labor (median 1.46 ng/mL, range 0.19-2.59; p = 0.42) or iatrogenic preterm delivery (median 1.60 ng/mL, range 0.66-7.96; p = 0.27) were found.
Conclusions: Low levels of azurocidin in maternal serum in the first trimester were associated with subsequent PPROM.