Antepartum and postpartum thrombomodulin levels in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether changes in plasma levels of thrombomodulin from antepartum to postpartum reflect the postpartum regression of preeclampsia. METHODS: Twenty-four preeclamptic women and 34 healthy, normotensive women with singleton pregnancies were studied in the third trimester. Plasma levels of thrombomodulin in the antepartum and postpartum periods were measured by a two-site immunoenzymatic assay. Two-tailed Student t test and paired-comparison t test were used for statistical analyses. The results were expressed as mean +/- standard error. RESULTS: Antepartum plasma thrombomodulin levels in preeclampsia were significantly higher than postpartum levels (71.3 +/- 8.5 versus 55.5 +/- 5.4 ng/mL; P = .006), which was not seen in the normotensive controls (49.9 +/- 3.1 versus 44.2 +/- 3.8 ng/mL; P > .05). Antepartum plasma levels of thrombomodulin in preeclamptic women were significantly higher than those in the normotensive controls (P = .01). However, postpartum plasma levels of thrombomodulin in preeclamptic women were not significantly higher than those in the normotensive controls (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Significantly decreased postpartum plasma thrombomodulin levels in preeclamptic pregnancies strongly correspond to clinical postpartum regression of preeclampsia. Copyright (C) 1997 by the Society for Gynecologic Investigation.