Summary
In a prospective longitudinal study, 130 primigravidae at risk for preeclampsia were
examined and plasma sampling performed in 45 of them. Plasma thrombomodulin (pTM)
was sequentially measured at weeks 12, 24 and 32 of gestation and after delivery in
20 primigravidae who developed either mild preeclampsia (n = 8) or gestational hyper-tension
(n = 12) between weeks 32 and 39 of gestation and in 25 (age-matched) primigravidae
who had uneventful pregnancies. pTM elevations were not observed until week 32 in
uneventful pregnancies, but were present by week 24 (p = 0.002) in patients who later
developed hypertensive complications. A net individual pTM increase ≥4.2 ng/ml between
weeks 12 and 24 (more than 8 times that of normotensive primigravidae) and/or pTM
level ≥47.5 ng/ml at week 32 predicted the development of hypertensive complications
with 80% accuracy. Serial pTM determinations can be useful to select pregnancies who
may benefit from early pharmacological intervention.