Circulating Angiogenic Factor Levels in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

NEJM Evid. 2022 Dec;1(12):EVIDoa2200161. doi: 10.1056/EVIDoa2200161. Epub 2022 Nov 9.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, biomarkers may stratify risk for developing preeclampsia with severe features (sPE). METHODS: Across 18 U.S. centers, we prospectively measured the ratio of serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) to placental growth factor (PlGF) in pregnant women hospitalized between 23 and 35 weeks of gestation. The primary outcome was predicting sPE, and secondary outcomes included predicting adverse outcomes within 2 weeks. The prognostic performance of the sFlt-1:PlGF ratio was assessed by using a derivation/validation design. RESULTS: A total of 1014 pregnant women were evaluated; 299 were included in the derivation cohort and 715 in the validation cohort. In the derivation cohort, the median sFlt-1:PlGF ratio was 200 (interquartile range, 53 to 458) among women who developed sPE compared with 6 (interquartile range, 3 to 26) in those who did not (P<0.001). The discriminatory ratio of ≥40 was then tested in the validation cohort and yielded a 65% positive (95% confidence interval [CI], 59 to 71) and a 96% negative (95% CI, 93 to 98) predictive value for the primary outcome. The ratio performed better than standard clinical measures (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, 0.92 versus <0.75 for standard-of-care tests). Compared with women with a ratio <40, women with a ratio ≥40 were at higher risk for adverse maternal outcomes (16.1% versus 2.8%; relative risk, 5.8; 95% CI, 2.8 to 12.2). CONCLUSIONS: In women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy presenting between 23 and 35 weeks of gestation, measurement of serum sFlt-1:PlGF provided stratification of the risk of progressing to sPE within the coming fortnight. (Funded by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Thermo Fisher Scientific; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03815110.)

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inducing Agents
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced*
  • Placenta Growth Factor
  • Pre-Eclampsia*
  • Pregnancy
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1

Substances

  • Placenta Growth Factor
  • Angiogenesis Inducing Agents
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03815110