Correlation Between Amniotic Fluid Alpha-Fetoprotein and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Background: Evaluation of the alpha-fetoprotein is one of the screening tests during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of alpha-fetoprotein in amniotic fluid (AF-AFP) and adverse pregnancy outcomes.Materials and methods: This comparative analytical study was performed on ۲۴۴ pregnant women who referred to a private prenatal clinic in Rasht (Iran). Amniocentesis was performed on pregnant women with maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MS-AFP) was higher than ۲.۵MoM in the second trimester and based on this finding, participants were divided into four groups of ۶۱ patients. The first group (control group) included pregnant women with normal MS-AFP, the second group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and normal AF-AFP, the third group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and low AF-AFP and the fourth group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and high AF-AFP. Results: Adverse outcomes include abortion (۶.۶%), stillbirth (۶.۶%), IUGR (۱۸%), LBW (۲۹.۵%), PTL (۲۱.۳%), fetal abnormalities (۴.۹%), preeclampsia (۱۴.۸%), gestational diabetes (۸.۲%), in the fourth group (high AF-AFP) was higher than other groups. The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the fourth group was ۱.۲ times higher than the control group, and this relationship was borderline statistically significant (P=۰.۰۵۶).Conclusions: Considering that adverse pregnancy outcomes are important causes of mortality and morbidity, early diagnosis of high-risk pregnancies and efforts for preventive interventions can be associated with reducing mortality and morbidity. Therefore, evaluation of the level AF-AFP can be helpful in determining adverse pregnancy outcomes.