Serum Zinc: A Noninvasive Biomarker for the Prediction of Invasive Placentation

Abnormally invasive placentation (AIP) is a challenging situation capable of complicating childbirth that has recently arisen, imposing a risk on maternal lives and well-being. The optimal management of this complication requires a valid antenatal diagnostic tool other than Doppler ultrasound (US). Of these, a handful of laboratory markers have been so far used for the antenatal detection of invasive placentation. This study sought to establish whether low maternal serum zinc (Zn) is related to AIP in women with placenta previa.

Over a period of six years, a prospective study was performed, including 168 pregnant ladies with placenta previa of whom, 72 cases were diagnosed with placenta accrete (PA) spectrum using Doppler US. The serum Zn was measured in all participants, and each individual was followed up regarding intraoperative and postoperative outcomes.

A significantly lower serum Zn level was found in women having the PA spectrum (P<0.001). At a level of 68 µg/dL, serum Zn was 79.2% sensitive, 95.8% specific, and had a comparable accuracy (88.7% vs. 89.3%) to color Doppler US in the identification of cases with PAS spectrum among those with placenta previa.

Low maternal serum Zn level is associated with AIP among placenta previa cases. Thus, more studies are needed in the future to support the use of this technique in the antenatal detection of the PAS.