Increased Hematocrit Levels in Third Trimester Pregnant Women as a Predictor of Preeclampsia

Background: Preeclampsia is a high blood pressure disorder diagnosed during pregnancy which is known to be characterized by the sudden onset of hypertension, proteinuria, and other organ failures at 20 weeks of gestational age. Hematocrit levels in pregnant women have been speculated to be a predictor parameter for the incidence of preeclampsia in pregnancy. One of the mechanisms associated as a predictor of preeclampsia is the blood volume ratio which does not increase simultaneously as in pregnant women with normal blood pressure, thereby producing hematocrit levels (HCT) that are relatively greater than the established standards.

Methods: The research method used was case-control, with the primary sample data being the patient's venous blood sample and the secondary data being the patient's medical records. The data collected was a total of 20 samples with a control population of 10 samples of normal pregnant women and a case population of 10 samples of preeclamptic pregnant women. Bivariate analysis uses the Non-Parametric Mann-Whitney Test.

Results: The research showed that the case group had higher hematocrit levels with Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) which has a value greater than the Mann-Whitney Test significance level (ɑ = 0.05), namely 0.001 > ɑ = 0.05.

Conclusions: This research concluded that there is a significant difference between the hematocrit levels in preeclamptic pregnant women, which are higher when compared to the hematocrit levels in normal pregnant women.