Affiliation:
1. 2nd Neonatal Department and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), “Papageorgiou” University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Papageorgiou” University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a placenta-mediated disease and remains a major cause of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. As PE develops, normal pregnancy’s hypercoagulable balance is disrupted, leading to platelet hyperactivation, excessive pathological hypercoagulability, and perturbed fibrinolysis. This narrative review aims to summarize the current knowledge regarding hemostasis in PE compared with healthy gestation and the potential effects of maternal PE on neonatal hemostasis. Finally, it aims to discuss hemostasis assessments for normal pregnancies and PE, emphasizing the role of viscoelastic tests, namely, thromboelastography (TEG) and thromboelastometry (ROTEM), for monitoring PE-associated hemostatic alterations. The use of TEG/ROTEM for assessing the hemostatic profile of PE women has been little considered, even though conventional coagulation tests (CCTs) have not helped to monitor hemostasis in this population. Compared with normal pregnancy, TEG/ROTEM in PE reveals an excessive hypercoagulability analogous with the severity of the disease, characterized by higher-stability fibrin clots. The TEG/ROTEM parameters can reflect PE severity and may be used for monitoring and as predictive markers for the disease.