Urinary Placental Growth Factor and Risk of Preeclampsia

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Abstract
Preeclampsia is a common hypertensive disorder of pregnancy characterized by systemic endothelial dysfunction and diagnosed by the appearance of hypertension and proteinuria.1,2 For this reason, it is recommended that women undergo blood pressure and urinary protein screening at each prenatal visit throughout gestation.3 Potentially life-threatening complications of preeclampsia include seizures, cerebral hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and renal failure; and the time between the first detection of hypertension and proteinuria and the subsequent development of these complications can be extremely short.3,4 The only known cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the placenta. If maternal signs develop before the fetus is mature, the risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality due to premature delivery is markedly increased.

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