Navigating Uncertain Waters: First-Trimester Screening’s Role in Identifying Neonatal Complications

Abstract

Background: Contemporary diagnostic methods aimed at assessing neonatal outcomes predominantly rely on the medical history of pregnant women. Ideally, universal biomarkers indicating an increased risk of delivering infants in poor clinical condition, with a heightened likelihood of requiring hospitalization in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), would be beneficial for appropriately stratifying pregnant women into a high-risk category. Our study evaluated whether biochemical and ultrasonographical markers universally used in first-trimester screenings for non-heritable chromosomal aberrations could serve this purpose. Methods: This study encompassed 1164 patients who underwent first-trimester screening, including patient history, ultrasound examinations, and biochemical tests for pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and the free beta-HCG subunit (fbHCG), from January 2019 to December 2021. The research concentrated on the correlation between these prenatal test results and neonatal outcomes, particularly Apgar scores, umbilical blood pH levels, and the necessity for NICU admission. Results: In our cohort, neonates scoring lower than 8 on the Apgar scale at birth exhibited lower concentrations of PAPP-A in the first trimester, both in raw and normalized values (PAPP-A MoM 0.93 vs. 1.027, p = 0.032). We also observed a higher pulsatility index in the venous duct in the first trimester in full-term neonates born with <8 points on the Apgar scale. Additionally, newborns born with an umbilical blood pH < 7.2 had lower normalized first-trimester PAPP-A concentrations (0.69 vs. 1.01 MoM, p = 0.04). We also noted that neonates requiring NICU hospitalization post-delivery had lower first-trimester bHCG concentrations (0.93 MoM vs. 1.11 MoM, p = 0.03). However, none of the correlations in our study translated into a robust prognostic ability for predicting dichotomous outcomes. All areas under the curve achieved a value < 0.7. Conclusions: Low concentrations of PAPP-A and free bHCG subunit in the first trimester may be associated with poorer clinical and biochemical conditions in neonates post-delivery. However, the relationship is weak and has limited predictive capability. Further research evaluating these relationships is necessary for the appropriate stratification of pregnant women into high-risk categories for neonatological complications.