ABSTRACT
Background: Preterm birth still remains a significant management problem and a large number of markers were investigated
Objective: To assess the increasing of Corticotrophin Releasing Hormone [CRH] level in women diagnosed with preterm labour and are of medical value. Design: - Case control study. Al-Kadhymia Teaching Hospital
Methods: Plasma samples of 80 women diagnosed with preterm labour were used in this study. Samples were divided into three groups, according to week of gestation [24[th] 28[th] 29[th] 32[nd] 33[rd] 37[th]]. CRH values determined by ELISA. Twenty low risk women of control group were recruited near the end of 2[nd] trimester, all of them delivered healthy infants at gestational age greater than 37 weeks
Results: In a study population of one hundred pregnant women, eighty of them were diagnosed as preterm labour and twenty women as a control group, sixty-four out of eighty high risk women delivered preterm birth while the remaining sixteen of the same group delivered term babies. Our study shows that CRH level is elevated in the women with preterm birth, and ranged between [18.30-95.03] pg/ml., serum values of CRH were significantly lower in women with term birth and ranging between [13.5-14.9] pg/ml, the [p<0.001]. The sensitivity of CRH was 80% while specificity was 100%
Conclusion: Maternal serum CRH level was elevated in women who gave preterm birth compared with those giving term delivery