A pattern of platelet indices as a potential marker for prediction of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women attending a Tertiary Hospital, Ethiopia: A case-control study

Solomon Gebre Bawore; Wondimagegn Adissu; Berhanu Niguse; Yilma Markos Larebo; Nigussie Abebe Ermolo; Lealem Gedefaw

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0259543

A pattern of platelet indices as a potential marker for prediction of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women attending a Tertiary Hospital, Ethiopia: A case-control study

PLoS One. 2021 Nov 9;16(11):e0259543. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259543. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Solomon Gebre Bawore¹, Wondimagegn Adissu², Berhanu Niguse³, Yilma Markos Larebo⁴, Nigussie Abebe Ermolo⁵, Lealem Gedefaw²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hosaena, Ethiopia.
² School of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
³ Wachemo University Nigist Eleni Mohammed Memorial Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Hadiya Zone, Southern Nation Nationality People Region, Hosaena, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hosaena, Ethiopia.
⁵ Nigussie Abebe Ermolo, Department of Health Service Management, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hosaena, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Introduction: Preeclampsia is the most serious health risk during pregnancy for both the mother and the fetus. Even though platelet parameters are among the proposed biomarkers for the prediction of preeclampsia, the use of its indices in the diagnosis of preeclampsia is not increasing in Ethiopia. There is little information on platelet patterns in preeclampsia and normal pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of platelet indices in women with preeclampsia in our study setting.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 180 pregnant women who attended anti-natal follow-ups from January 1 to April 3, 2019. An Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid anti-coagulated venous blood was collected and analyzed using a hematology analyzer (MINDRAY®-BC-300Plus, Shenzhen China). The SPSS software version 26 was used to run the Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, Post-hock test augmented with Benforeni, receiver operating characteristics curve, and Spear Man rank-order correlation. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 180 pregnant women were included in the study. Platelet count and platelet crit levels tend to decrease as pre-eclampsia becomes more severe. In contrast, the mean platelet volume and platelet distribution widths were significantly increased with the severity of preeclampsia (P<0.001). Platelet distribution width (rho = 0.731, p<0.001) and mean platelet volume (rho = 0.674, p<0.001) had statistically significant positive relationships with mean arterial pressure. The best metric for predicting preeclampsia was platelet distribution width (AUC = 0.986; 95%CI; 0.970, 1).

Conclusions: Platelet indices, including platelet count, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, and Platelet crit, have been identified as promising candidate markers for predicting preeclampsia in pregnant women. In the future, a serial examination of these indicators during several trimesters of pregnancy should be conducted.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Case-Control Studies
Ethiopia
Female
Humans
Pre-Eclampsia*
Pregnancy
Tertiary Care Centers

Grants and funding

This study was sponsored by the Jimma University (JU), as one of the 1st generations higher Institution University in Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia financed this study as part of a community research project for research and community service. The funder had no role in the design of the study, data collection, and analysis, interpretation of the data, and preparation of the manuscript.