Role of hematological indices in predicting preeclampsia and its severity: retrospective case–control study

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious condition that threatens pregnancy with severe sequelae on both the mother and infant. Early detection of PE will lead to favorable outcomes, and using readily available markers like hematological indices is an attractive choice. Examine the diagnostic utility of hematological indices in pregnant women to predict preeclampsia and its severity. In a retrospective case-control study that included 252 women, all had their complete blood picture evaluated during their first and third trimesters as part of their outpatient antenatal care during their pregnancy. They were also divided into 3 groups: healthy pregnant women (control), non-severe PE, and severe PE, each involving 84 women. The changes in platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) between 1st and 3rd trimesters showed an excellent ability to differentiate between severe PE and control (area under the curve = 0.954, cutoff ≤ -5.45%) and a good ability to differentiate between severe PE and non-severe PE (area under the curve = 0.841, cutoff ≤ -7.89%). Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio showed a good to excellent ability to differentiate between severe PE and non-severe PE compared to control in the first and third trimesters and the percentage change between them. Changes in neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and PLR strongly predict preeclampsia and its severity since they offer more predictive values than measuring NLP and PLR at different stages of pregnancy individually.