The diagnostic value of cervicovaginal and serum ferritin levels in relation to spontaneous preterm delivery

Abstract

Objective The objective of the study was to detect the diagnostic value of cervicovaginal and serum ferritin levels in 20–24 weeks of gestation in the prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery in singleton pregnancies with no well-known risk factors of preterm delivery. Background Preterm delivery is one of the most important health problems in the world that may lead to severe short-term and long-term medical and developmental problems in infants. Patients and methods Venous blood and cervicovaginal fluid samples are drawn from 100 women with singleton pregnancies within 20–24 weeks of gestation at the Department of Obstetric and Gynecologies, El Mehalla Hospital and then they were followed up and the term of delivery were noted. Results Spontaneous preterm delivery in singleton pregnancies with no well-known risk factors is associated with increased levels of cervicovaginal and serum ferritin when measured within 20–24 weeks of gestation and there is a strong positive correlation between both serum and cervicovaginal ferritin levels measuring 0.83. However, the only significant predictor is serum ferritin as an increase by one unit of its value increases the preterm risk by 1.277. About 85% of preterm deliveries can be predicted by serum ferritin. Conclusion It has been observed that 20–24 weeks of gestation serum ferritin level is a significant predictor of preterm delivery in singleton normal pregnancies.