Comparison of the Mean Level of C3 & C4 Complements in Pre-eclamptic Patients and Normal Pregnancy

Background:
Hypertension is still an important cause of mortality in mother, fetus and neonate. Up to 25% of perinatal mortality in developing countries is due to hypertension. The role of immunologic factors in development of pre-eclampsia is increasing. Decreased level of C3 & C4 complements in pre-eclamptic patients has been documented in some studies. The goal of this study is to compare the level of C3 & C4 in patients with normal pregnancy versus those with pre-eclampsia.

Methods:
This cross-sectional study was performed during one year, among pregnant women with a gestational age of more than 20 weeks and blood pressure over 140/90 mmHg plus proteinuria over 300 mg in 24h-urine or over 30 mg/dl in random urine. We selected 23 pre-eclamptic cases and 34 controls.

Findings:
Mean level of C3 in pre-eclamptic patients was 98.8±25.82 mg/dl and 112.5±29.03 mg/dl in controls (p<0.005). Mean level of C4 in pre-eclamptic patients was 27.9±10.62 mg/dl and 35±11.25 mg/dl in controls (p<0.05).

Conclusion:
In this study, the level of C3 & C4 in pre-eclamptic patients was lower than in those without pre-eclamsia. It is suggested that decreased level of these complements can be considered as a predictive factor of pre-eclampsia. More studies are warranted in this field.

Key words:
Preeclampsia, complement (C3 & C4), pregnancy