A Biochemical Marker of Preeclampsia - Hypertriglyceridemia - and the Impact of Secondary Prevention Therapy

Abstract

Changes in lipid metabolism from pregnancies with preeclampsia (PE) are a challenge for the obstetrician, because they contribute to the pathological chain and to some specific severe complications (severe hypertriglyceridemia of pregnancy, acute pancreatitis etc). Patients at risk for PE have higher levels of triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol, compared to normotensive pregnant women. We searched the link between lipidic changes in pregnancies with PE and the way secondary prophylactic treatments with acetylsalicilic acid or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) can influence the evolution of pregnancy, avoiding the severe complications of this disease. We identified patients at risk of developing PE and then applied a secondary prophylaxis with either a platelet antiaggregant (acetylsalycilic acid - a group of 36 patients) or an anticoagulant prophylaxis with LMWH � enoxaparin (a second group of 37 patients), aiming a decrease of severe complications of PIH/PE. The control group consisted of 33 pregnant women with risk factors for PE, without any secondary prophylaxis, according to actual guidelines. We periodically determined (at 14, 16-20 and 34 weeks of pregnancy) several biochemical parameters: triglycerides, uric acid, free fatty acids, total cholesterol and albuminemia. In the present paper we present the evolution of triglyceridemia in the studied groups, considering hypertriglyceridemia as an important prognostic factor for maternal complications in pregnancy. The most important result of our study is the statistically significant extremely low rate of complications in the treatment groups.