Could high levels of cell-free DNA in maternal blood be associated with maternal health and perinatal outcomes?

Could high levels of cell-free DNA in maternal blood be associated with maternal health and perinatal outcomes? J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Nov 26;:1-6 Authors: Konuralp Atakul B, Koc A, Adiyaman D, Kuyucu M, Sahingoz Yildirim AG, Saka Guvenc M, Erdogan KM, Sengul B, Oztekin DC Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the maternal and foetal factors affect higher cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels and to investigate a possible relationship between high cfDNA levels and adverse perinatal outcomes. From a total of 4594 women who underwent non-invasive prenatal testing from January 2016 to March 2018 in our hospital, 112 women had high levels of cfDNA, which was not appropriate for testing. Maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes were compared between patients with high levels of cfDNA and normal levels of cfDNA. Patients with high levels of cfDNA had greater risks than patients with normal cfDNA levels of pregnancy complications but no statistically significant difference was found. Patients with high cfDNA levels had higher foetal death rates with a statistically significant difference (9.8% versus 1.8%, p = .024). An increase in foetal death could be expected in patients with increased cfDNA levels; therefore, these patients should be carefully followed up during pregnancy.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat's already known about this topic? Most studies about cfDNA levels are focussed on the foetal fraction. There are new arguments about m...
Source: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Category: OBGYN Tags: J Obstet Gynaecol Source Type: research