A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PLASMA VITAMIN C LEVELS IN PRE-ECLAMPTIC AND NORMOTENSIVE PREGNANCIES AT THE LAGOS UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL
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Date
2015
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DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, LAGOS UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL (LUTH).LAGOS **DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN TEACHING HOSPITAL ***DEPARTMENT OF ANAESTHESIA ^DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE AND EPIDEMIOLOGY ^^DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN/UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN TEACHING HOSPITAL
Abstract
Background: Pre-eclampsia remains a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in our environment. Research into methods of prevention of this disorder has been hampered by a poor understanding of the pathological mechanisms leading to pre-eclampsia. Recent studies suggest that oxidative stress (with reduced antioxidant defences) could lead to free radical mediated endothelial dysfunction in pre-eclampsia.
Objectives: To determine the plasma vitamin C levels in pre-eclamptic and normotensive pregnant patients at LUTH, and to compare the levels of plasma vitamin C in both groups of patients with a view to investigate the association between plasma vitamin C level and pre-eclampsia.
Method: A comparative study of plasma vitamin C levels in pre-eclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. Informed consent was obtained from 90 women admitted to the labour ward with singleton pregnancies between 28 and 40 weeks, who were divided into two groups: 30 pre-eclamptic patients and 60 normotensive patients (each pre-eclamptic patient was matched for parity with 2 normotensive patients). Venous blood was obtained from all the participants. Plasma vitamin C level was measured using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Data was analyzed using inferential statistical methods.
Results: The results showed that mean plasma vitamin C level in the pre-eclamptic women was 119.3 ± 23.7 μg/ml, while the mean plasma vitamin C level in the normotensive pregnant patients was 246.5 ± 45.0 μg/ml. The mean concentration of plasma vitamin C level was significantly lower in the pre-eclamptic patients than in the normotensive patients (t=14.5; p<0.001)
Conclusion: The study showed that pre-eclampsia is associated with decreased concentration of plasma vitamin C. There is the need for a local study to investigate the effect of vitamin C supplementation on pre-eclampsia.
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Keywords
Pre-eclampsia, pre-eclamptic pregnancies, normotensive pregnancies, plasma vitamin C level