Assessment of Some Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Haematological Parameters among Pregnant Women in Different Trimesters in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Pregnancy is a physiological condition that is associated some changes in haematological and immunological parameters. This study evaluated the levels of some systemic inflammatory and haematological parameters in pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. A total of 275 pregnant women of age 20 to 70 years and 87 apparently healthy non-pregnant control subjects were involved in this study. Five millilitres (5ml) of blood were collected from the subjects into EDTA bottle for the evaluation of the parameters. ELISA technique was used in the determination of soluble transferrin receptor while Sysmex automation was used for the determination of the other parameters. The mean value of parameters for the study subjects were Hb( 9.05± 1.22g/dl), sTfR( 21.16± 9.11nmol/L), NLR (2.69 ± 0.91), PLR (8.78 ± 2.97), while for control subjects were Hb( 12.19± 0.66g/dl), sTfR( 18.21± 3.77nmol/L), NLR (2.86 ± 0.11), PLR (9.62 ± 2.79). The mean sTfR levels in pregnant women was significantly lower (p=0.001) than in control subjects. The pregnant women also had significantly lower values of Hb (p=0.0001), and PLT (p=0.017). According to trimesters, the levels of sTfR significantly increased with trimester (p=0.002), while that of PLR significantly increased in the second trimester (p=0.006). However, there were no significant differences in the levels of Hb (p=0.185) and NLR (p=0.70) among the trimesters. The results indicate that the pregnant women did not have levels of parameters that may indicate negative outcomes of pregnancy. It is recommended that systemic parameters be monitored among pregnant women in order to help in their medical management.