Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (βHCG) Levels in Pre-eclamptic and Normotensive Pregnant Women

Background: Pre-eclampsia along with bleeding and infection constitute a triad that is a major cause of maternal mortality. Many factors have been recognized which can help us to determine the severity of the disease and early diagnosis of it. Since throphoblastic disorder is one of the etiological causes of pre-eclampsia, we decided to measure the level of β-hCG as a marker of detecting the activity of throphoblasts in normotensive, mild and sever pre-eclamptic pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This research was a cross - sectional study which carried out on 75 pregnant women admitted to Asali hospital. All patients matched for age and gravidity. Patients were divided into 3 groups: 25 cases of mild pre-eclampsia, 25 cases of severe pre-eclampsia and 25 cases of normotensive pregnant women. The level of β-hCG in each group was measured by ELISA assay. Findings: The level of β-hCG was 18572  2123 IU/L in normotensive group 23962  6558 IU/L in mild pre-eclamptic group and 59220  4634 IU/L in sever pre-eclamptic group. Statistical analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the level of β-hCG in severe pre-eclamptic group was significantly higher than the other two groups (p< 0/001). The level of the hormone was not significantly different in mild pre-eclamptic and normotensive. Conclusion: The level of in pregnant women with severe pre-eclampsia was more than the other two groups (Normotensive and mild pre-eclamptic). Therefore, higher levels of β-hCG can determine the severity of pre-eclampsia but is not valid marker for early detection of the disease.