Purpose: To assess the utility of maternal serum calponin 1 level in the prediction of delivery within 7 days among pregnancies complicated with threatened preterm labor.
Materials and methods: Eligible women who presented at 24-34 weeks of gestation with threatened preterm labor underwent sampling for serum calponin 1 level and cervical length measurement. They were followed up until delivery prospectively and the perinatal outcomes of the patients were recorded.
Results: Of 73 women included in the study, 36 women delivered within 7 days and 37 women delivered beyond 7 days after admission. The maternal serum calponin 1 level was significantly high in women who delivered within 7 days (p: 0.031). The threshold value of 2 ng/mL for maternal serum calponin 1 predicted delivery within 7 days with 61.1% sensitivity and 62.2 specificity (area under curve, 0.658, confidence interval 0.53-0.79). The general accuracy values for maternal cervical length measurement (≤25 mm), serum calponin 1 level (>2 ng/mL) and the combination of two tests to predict delivery within 7 days was found to be 64.4%, 61.6% and 72.1%, respectively.
Conclusions: The maternal serum calponin 1 level may be a useful biomarker in short-term prediction of preterm birth among pregnancies complicated with threatened preterm labor, in addition to cervical length measurement.
Keywords: Preterm birth; calponin 1; prediction; threatened preterm labor.