Serum podocalyxin at 11–13 weeks of gestation in the prediction of small for gestational age neonates

Objectiveto investigate a potential new marker for the prediction of small for gestational age (sga) infants.study designnested case-control study involving 280 uncomplicated pregnancies and 70 cases of sga without pre-eclampsia. serum podocalyxin was measured at 11–13 weeks of gestation and results were expressed in multiples of the median (mom). the performance of screening by a combination of maternal history and podocalyxin levels was assessed with roc curves.resultssga was predicted by maternal age, height, south asian ethnicity, and previous delivery without pre-eclampsia. median podocalyxin levels were higher in affected than uncomplicated pregnancies (1.303 versus 0.994 mom, p < 0.001). at a 10% false-positive rate, maternal history identified 40.0% of the cases (auc = 0.74, 95%ci 0.671–0.809). the addition of podocalyxin increased the detection to 54.3% (auc = 0.78, 95%ci 0.771–0.842, p = 0.027 for the difference in roc curves).conclusionfirst-trimester podocalyxin may be useful in screening for sga infants.