The relationship between serum thiol levels and thiol/disulfide homeostasis in women with tubal ectopic pregnancy

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the thiol/disulfide homeostasis in tubal ectopic pregnancies in terms of early diagnosis of the disease. DesignA prospective case-control study was carried out between June 2017–February 2018 in the Gynaecology Department of Umraniye Medical and Research Hospital. Materials and MethodsA total of 42 women with ectopic pregnancy were compared with 44 healthy women who have intrauterine first trimester pregnancies. The thiol/disulfide homeostasis is evaluated with the spectrophotometric measurement method that was recently developed by Erel&Neselioglu. ResultsDisulfide/native thiol and disulfide/total thiol ratios were increased (p = 0.018 and p = 0.023 respectively), while native thiol/total thiol ratios and native thiol levels were decreased in tubal ectopic pregnancy group according to control group (p = 0.023). Between control and tubal ectopic pregnancy groups no differences were measured in disulfide levels (p = 0.350). The area under curve for native thiol and total thiol were 0.937 and 0.927, respectively. The optimum cut off value for native thiol was 379.95 μmol/l with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 81%. The optimum cut off value for total thiol was 432.5 μmol/l had 92% sensitivity and 79% specificity. LimitationsIn the study, whether intrauterine pregnancies resulted in miscarriage or delivery can be examined. ConclusionIncreased disulfide/native thiol levels, disulfide/total-thiol ratio and decreased native/total thiol ratio were found to be significantly associated with the presence of tubal ectopic pregnancy which can be useful for the early diagnosis of the disease.Keywords: Ectopic, thiol, oxidative stress, pregnancy, inflammation