Severe pre-eclampsia and maternal thyroid function

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the thyroid function in severe pre-eclamptic patients compared with healthy controls. Twenty-seven women with severe pre-eclampsia and 26 healthy normotensive controls were studied prospectively. Both groups were matched according to three gestational age subgroups; 30-33, 34-37 and 38-41 weeks. Serum concentrations of free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured by immunochemoluminiscence using an automated analyser (Immulite 2000). Pre-eclamptic women obviously showed a statistically significant increase in terms of systolic BP, diastolic BP, levels of urinary albumin and uric acid compared with the healthy controls. There were no significant differences in the levels of FT4, FT3 and TSH between the two study groups in the various gestational age subgroups. We conclude that the thyroid function is not altered in severe pre-eclampsia, therefore it does not reflect the severity of pre-eclampsia.