Determination of systemic inflammatory markers and determination of possible risk factors in post-term pregnancies
Objective: This study aims to examine systemic inflammatory markers and the influence of feto-maternal factors in post-term pregnancies, assessing their ability to predict the course of these pregnancies. The findings seek to contribute to the existing literature on post-term pregnancy outcomes. Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed data from 250 pregnant women, aged 16 to 45, with a known last menstrual period (LMP) and no active trauma, who were admitted to the Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital between 2018 and 2023. The parameters examined included age, parity, systolic arterial tension (SAT), white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), and neonatal outcomes. The case group consisted of 125 pregnant women who were at or beyond 42 weeks (≥42+0) according to LMP, while the control group included 125 women between 37 and 40+6 weeks of gestation. Comparisons were made between the groups based on the neutrop- hil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and other demographic characteristics. Results: When comparing post-term and term pregnancies, the post-term pregnancy group showed significantly higher values for age, gestation period, height, RDW, and PDW. In contrast, WBC, PLT, MPV, and PLR were significantly higher in the term pregnancy group. No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of live birth rate, birth weight, birth height, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, or NLR. Conclusion: In the post-term group, WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, MPV, and NLR levels were lower, while PDW and RDW levels were higher compared to the term group. No differences were observed in PLR and PLT levels. Studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to enhance the predictive value of these markers for post-term pregnancies.
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