Objectives: This study was designed for evaluating coagulation parameters and low APGAR scores in pregnancies with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) vs. normal control pregnancies.
Methods: We carried out a prospective case-control study by enrolling 40 women with ICP at the third trimester of pregnancy and 40 pregnant women without ICP.
Results: Total bile acid levels (TBA), MPV, D-dimer, and umbilical artery systolic/diastolic ratio (UASDR) values were higher in women with ICP. Pregnancies complicated by low APGAR score exhibited significantly higher D-dimer levels than those of unimpaired fetal outcome in patients with ICP and control subjects. Levels of D-dimer were inversely correlated with 5'-Apgar score and positively associated with UASDR values in patients with ICP. Pregnancies that exhibited abnormal UASDR had higher total bile acid (TBA), D-dimer, MPV values and lesser 5'-Apgar score. In linear stepwise regression analyses, D-dimer independently and positively associated with UASDR, inversely associated with 5'-Apgar score in subjects with ICP; positively associated with mean platelet volume (MPV) values and inversely associated with 5'-Apgar score in all subjects.
Conclusion: Patients with ICP had low-grade systemic coagulation and fibrinolytic activation as evidenced by elevated D-dimer, and also D-dimer is associated with lower APGAR scores in both ICP and all pregnancies. Increased D-dimer levels suggest that hematological parameters could be potentially used as indicators of risk factor for assessing low APGAR score in ICP.