Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29514604›Full record

Observational studyBMC pregnancy and childbirth2018

Efficacy of serum procalcitonin to predict spontaneous preterm birth in women with threatened preterm labour: a prospective observational study.

Guillaume Ducarme, François Desroys du Roure, Aurélie Le Thuaut, Joséphine Grange, Mathilde Vital, Jérôme Dimet

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01977079 (Procalcitonin and Threatened Premature Delivery), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01977079 naterminatednot on this map

Procalcitonin and Threatened Premature Delivery

TypeinterventionalSponsorCentre Hospitalier Departemental VendeeRan2013 to 2016Enrolled131ConditionsPregnancy, Premature DeliveryArmsprocalcitonin
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Overview of procalcitonin in pregnancy and in pre-eclampsia.Clinical and experimental immunology · 2019
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Guillaume DucarmeDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France. g.ducarme@gmail.com.
François Desroys du RoureDepartment of Biology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Aurélie Le ThuautClinical Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Joséphine GrangeDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Mathilde VitalDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Jérôme DimetDepartment of Biology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Centre Hospitalier Départemental Vendée · FRRoche (France) · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA hypothesis of preterm parturition is that the pathogenesis of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) may be associated with an inflammatory process. Based on this theory, we have hypothesized that an inflammatory biomarker, procalcitonin (PCT), may be a good predictive marker of sPTB at the admission for threatened preterm labour (TPL). The present study was aimed to investigate the association between serum PCT and sPTB in women with TPL and to evaluate whether PCT levels may predict sPTB in women with TPL within 7 or 14 days.

methodsIn a prospective observational laboratory-based study, women with singleton pregnancies, TPL between 24 and 36 weeks and intact membranes, were enrolled between January 2014 and June 2016. Participants received routine medical management of TPL (tocolysis with atosiban, antenatal corticosteroids, and biological tests at admission (C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and PCT measured on electrochemiluminescence immunoassay)). The primary endpoint was sPTB before 37 weeks of gestation. The value of serum PCT levels to predict sPTB within 7 or 14 days were evaluated using receiver-operating curves (ROC) analysis.

resultsA total of 124 women were included in our study. PCT levels did not statistically differ between women with sPTB (n = 30, 24.2%) and controls (n = 94) (median in ng/mL [interquartile range]: 0.043 [0.02-0.07] compared to 0.042 [0.02-0.13], respectively; P = 0.56). PCT levels did not also statistically differ between women with sPTB within 7 days (n = 7, 5.6%) or 14 days (n = 12, 9.7%) after testing and controls. Moreover, subgroup analysis revealed no difference among PCT levels at admission between 24 and 28 weeks, between 28 and 32 weeks and over 32 weeks, and controls. On the basis of the receiver-operating characteristic curve, the highest sensitivity and specificity corresponded to a PCT concentration of 0.038 ng/mL, with poor predictive values for sPTB within 7 or 14 days.

conclusionSerum PCT was not relevant to predict sPTB within 7 or 14 days in women admitted with TPL between 24 and 36 weeks, and thus it is not a suitable biological marker to confirm the hypothesis of an inflammatory process associated with preterm parturition.

trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov ( NCT01977079 ), Registered 24 October 2013.

Indexed as

Premature BirthAdultBiomarkersCalcitoninFemaleHumansPredictive Value of TestsPregnancyPrognosisProspective StudiesReproducibility of ResultsSensitivity and SpecificityBiomarkersCalcitoninProcalcitoninSpontaneous preterm birthThreatened preterm labour

Identifiers

PMID29514604
PMCPMC5842551
OpenAlexW2797318877

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.