Predictive value of maternal serum podocalyxin in the diagnosis of preeclampsia: a prospective case-control study

Objective s : There is a need for markers to facilitate the diagnosis of preeclampsia, one of the most chief causes of maternal and infant mortality. Preeclampsia causes damage to the glomeruli and vascular endothelium in pregnant women. Podocalyxin is a sialoglycoprotein found in both glomeruli and vascular endothelium. In this study, we investigated the levels of podocalyxin in preeclampsia, and studied its potential to predict preeclampsia. Material and methods: Women admitted to the Health Sciences University Derince Training and Research Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between February–November 2018 due to high direct blood and diagnosed with preeclampsia according to the 2013 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criteria were included in the study. The control group consisted of healthy volunteers having similar demographic features ‎(gestational week, gravida, parity, and age) with the preeclampsia group. The main outcome variable was serum podocalyxin levels. Results: ‎The mean (± SD) podocalyxin levels of the study and control groups were 124.15 ± ‎39.63 ng/mL and ‎71.47 ± ‎16.86 ng/mL, respectively (‎t = 7.845‎, ‎p < 0.001‎). Using a cut-off of 91.7123, podocalyxin could predict preeclampsia with 90% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Furthermore, podocalyxin levels were significantly higher than the normotensive participants in both early (‎14‎‎3.81‎ ± ‎5‎‎1.96 ng/mL‎ vs. ‎75.‎‎35 ± ‎1‎‎9.36 ng/mL‎) and late-onset (‎11‎‎0.22 ± ‎1‎‎9.11 ng/mL‎ vs ‎68.‎‎26 ± ‎1‎‎4.13 ng/mL‎) preeclampsia (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Serum podocalyxin levels increase in preeclampsia. We conclude that podocalyxin is a candidate for predicting preeclampsia.