Serum Soluble Endocan Might Be a Predictor of Preterm Labor.

Background: Preterm birth is defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation. It occurs in 10% of all deliveries worldwide and is a major contributor to perinatal mortality and morbidity. The study aimed to evaluate the role of serum-soluble Endocan levels in the prediction and prognostication of preterm labor.

Materials and methods: This was a prospective observational study carried out for 1 year in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in collaboration with Pathology. Preterm labor was defined as per ACOG guidelines. After informed consent and ethical clearance from the institutional ethics committee, a total of 130 pregnant women with established preterm labor were recruited, and finally, 124 women were enrolled and further divided according to their gestation age, extreme preterm ( n = 1), very preterm ( n = 22), moderately preterm ( n = 32), late preterm ( n = 39), and term ( n = 30) pregnancy. Serum endocan level was measured using the ELISA technique using a human ESM1 ELISA kit as per manufacturer protocol.

Results: 94.4% of women were not registered while 52.4% were urban and 41.9% were primigravida, 88.7% had body mass index (BMI) in the normal range. The mean serum endocan level was maximum in women who delivered moderate preterm babies (866.64 ± 43.42 pg/ml). followed by (730.68 ± 107.05 pg/ml) who delivered very preterm and almost equal to late preterm (659.21 ± 68.17 pg/ml) and term delivery (662.50 ± 38.30 pg/ml). The mean serum endocan level was higher (839.52 ± 81.16 pg/ml) in women who delivered within 24 h.

Conclusion: Serum endocan might be a good prognostic marker in preterm labor; adequate antenatal care is required to prevent preterm labor.