Serum ferritin level as a marker of preterm labor

Abstract

Introduction: Preterm birth defined as birth between 24 0/7 weeks of gestation and 36 6/7 weeks of gestation. The diagnosis of preterm labor generally is based on clinical criteria of regular uterine contractions accompanied by a change in cervical dilation, effacement, or both, or initial presentation with regular contractions and cervical dilation of at least 2 cm. Less than 10% of women with the clinical diagnosis of preterm labor actually give birth within 7 days of presentation. Aim of the study: To evaluate the value of serum ferritin level as predictors in preterm labor Patients and Method: A prospective cross-sectional study, conducted at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Elwiya maternity teaching hospital, from the first of Feb 2019 to the end of July 2019. The sample collected from the pregnant lady who visited the outpatient clinic. Results: The current study included 216 respondents, half of them (100) for case group (preterm) and other half for normal healthy group and 16 ladies were lost from follow up. With total mean age (29±5) years (range=18-40) years, S. ferritin was highly significantly decreased in full term than that in preterm (P<0.001). Validity of the test to diagnose preterm show that sensitivity was (91.0%), specificity (95.0%), NPV (94.8%), PPV (68.0%) and the accuracy of the test was (93.0%). Conclusion: Elevated serum ferritin level during the third trimester may be of use in prediction of preterm labor.