New blood test could help predict preeclampsia in pregnant patients

New study published in Nature Medicine

Dr. Raj "Swati" Shree, Associate Professor in our Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine was recently co-author on "Preeclampsia risk prediction from prenatal cell-free DNA screening", a paper published in Nature Medicine.

The paper indicates that a new blood test has the potential to be helpful in predicting preeclampsia in pregnant patients. Read the King 5 News article here.

When asked what she considered to be the biggest takeaway from the study, Dr. Shree said,

"This study found that prediction of preeclampsia can be improved from our current approach with the use of biomarkers present in maternal blood. We developed an approach that uses samples that are routinely used for screening for genetic conditions, like Down Syndrome. With this approach, preeclampsia screening could happen easily through a first trimester blood sample - at the same time as when many individuals seek screening for genetic conditions."

When asked what she sees as the impact of these findings on the field, Dr. Shree answered,

"These findings confirm that there are signals present in maternal blood that can help us determine who is at higher risk for developing preeclampsia. This is helpful as our current tools are not very sensitive and miss a fair number of cases every year. With further development of biomarkers, we can improve upon this screening to then prescribe interventions that we know are helpful (e.g., low-dose aspirin), while also studying newer interventions to mitigate risk."

UW care options for patients experiencing hypertension and preeclampsia in pregnancy:

We have a dedicated Hypertension Clinic in our Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) clinic that sees patients with a current and prior history of hypertension, preeclampsia, and other related disorders.

For patients who deliver at UW-Montlake with a hypertensive disorder complicating their pregnancy, we also provide Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) of blood pressures after patients are discharged as we know that blood pressures can spike after delivery. Through this RPM program, patients meet with a hypertension specialist via telemedicine and are in regular contact with our team of physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses.