Metropolis Healthcare has launched sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, a new tool for the diagnosis of preeclampsia by discriminating between preeclamptic pregnancies and other forms of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders.

Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it has been conceptualized as a simple blood test to deliver clear, reliable results with a specificity of 95 per cent and a sensitivity of 82 per cent to help identify patients at risk for potentially life threatening complications.

It is believed that preeclampsia may be caused by an imbalance of angiogenic factors. It has been demonstrated that high serum levels of sFlt-1, an anti-angiogenic protein (inhibits growth of new blood vessels) and low levels of PlGF, a pro-angiogenic protein (promotes growth of new blood vessels) predict subsequent development of preeclampsia.

Speaking on the launch of this new test, Dr Sushil Shah, Founder Chairman, Metropolis Healthcare said “Metropolis is proud to launch this test to diagnose preeclampsia and we truly believe that this will greatly help clinicians manage their patients accordingly. This new test could be a life saver for moms at risk.”

Adding to it, Dr Deepak Sanghavi, head of department, Clinical Chemistry said “Clinical criteria alone (blood pressure and proteinuria) may be inadequate to predict adverse outcomes. This test for preeclampsia allows for early and precise diagnosis leading to effective clinical management and improving the outcome for mother and child.”

Though it may sound complicated, Indians have been aware of preeclampsia over several decades. The need for developing high-accuracy diagnostic pathways have prompted doctors to start monitoring blood pressure from early pregnancy periods to ensure the close monitoring of high-risk pregnancies.

At present the major challenges in modern obstetrics are the identification of women at high risk for preeclampsia early in pregnancy and interventions to reduce the prevalence of the disease. It is important that clinicians are able to identify and screen pregnant women right in the first trimester. Combined screening, that is dual marker with preeclampsia or only preeclampsia screening in weeks ‘11–13+6’ can reliably identify women at risk for developing preeclampsia.