NHS offers new blood test for expectant mothers for pre-eclampsia

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Pregnant women in England will be able to undergo a new type of blood test to look for pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening illness.

NHS England makes the PLGF test more widely available because the evidence suggests that it speeds up the diagnosis, which could save lives.

Mothers who develop pre-eclampsia have dangerously high blood pressure that can damage vital organs.

The PLGF test tells doctors if a woman is at high, medium or low risk.

Pre-eclampsia affects tens of thousands of pregnancies each year, but can be managed if detected early enough.

People at higher risk need to be closely monitored and may have to give birth early if the disease becomes too severe despite the treatment.

"I was really terrified"

Sarah Findlay, a 45-year-old from London, spent the last week of her pregnancy in the hospital after the doctors discovered that she was suffering from worrying high blood pressure.

"It was a very stressful time. Until then, my pregnancy had been fantastic. Everything was going really well, "she said.

"It was during a routine examination that they found that my blood pressure was too high and they admitted me because they feared it was pre-eclampsia.

"I felt mother and patient, I was really terrified because I did not know if everything would be fine for me and if I could lose my baby."

The doctors closely monitored Sarah's condition and she had a healthy little girl, Isla, who is now four years old.

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Sarah Findlay

She welcomes any test to predict and reassure pregnant women about their risk of pre-eclampsia.

The test

The tests of the new blood test PLGF (Plasma Growth Factor), which costs around £ 70, show that it speeds up the diagnosis, which means that life-threatening complications for the mother and baby can be avoided.

More than 1,000 women from 11 UK maternities participated in the trials in the second and third trimesters.

Using PLGF in conjunction with blood pressure testing and regular urine tests will increase the average diagnosis time from four days to about two days.

The previous diagnosis was associated with a lower risk of serious complications – 5.3% (24 of 447 women diagnosed with usual controls) compared to 3.8% (22 of 573 women diagnosed with usual controls plus PLGF) .

Lead researcher Professor Lucy Chappell of King & # 39; s College London said, "It's really going to make a difference for women." The challenge for physicians is to identify high-risk pregnancies that require closer monitoring, the PLGF helps us to make this diagnosis earlier. "

Professor Tony Young, NHS England, said: "The NHS, with government partners, will make this test more widely available in the NHS as part of our plans to ensure that as many people as possible patients can benefit from global innovations in health. "

The NHS of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland could also offer the test.