Abstract
Background: Various hematological and immunological changes can occur in pregnancy which could be beneficial for the growth of the fetus and the maintenance of the pregnancy although some of these changes could be hazardous to the fetus and can cause complications during pregnancy. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the hematological and immunological changes in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia (PE).
Materials and Methods: To this end, hematological and immunological changes were evaluated in 62 normal pregnant women and 56 pregnant women with PE. Moreover, 58 healthy non-pregnant women were studied as the control group. The study was done between December 1, 2018 to May 1, 2019 in Chwarbakh Private Clinic and Shorsh Teaching Hospital. The venous peripheral blood from the antecubital vein was used in this study.
Results: The results revealed a significant increase in the number of granulocytes, monocytes, and mean platelet (PLT) volume in both normal pregnant women and PE patients in comparison to normal (non-pregnant) controls (P<0.01). In addition, there was a significant correlation between a reduction in their hematocrit (HCT), PLT, and lymphocytes (P<0.01). With regard to immunological changes, a significant increase was also observed in the serum interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels in both normal pregnancy and preeclamptic patients when compared to non-pregnant controls (P<0.01), but gamma interferon was not significantly different. Conversely, there were no significant associations between the serum level of antiphospholipid antibodies and anticardiolipin antibodies in the study groups except for antiphospholipid antibodies which were significantly lower in the third trimester of pregnancy in the preeclamptic patients (P<0.05).
Conclusion: In general, significant changes in hematological and immunological parameters were observed in both normal pregnant and PE patients although further studies are required to include more immunological parameters.