Preeclampsia clinical trials at UCSD

The goal of this observational study is to develop and validate cell-free RNA-based biomarkers for predicting a variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes in a pregnant person population. The main question it aims to answer are: 1. Can cell-free RNA-based biomarkers predict which pregnant people are at greatest risk of developing adverse pregnancy outcomes (e.g., preterm birth, preeclampsia)? 2. What is the performance of such biomarkers when predicting an adverse pregnancy outcome (e.g., sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, TPR)?

To better understand postpartum blood pressure changes, we are proposing a study to monitor blood pressure after delivery in 100 patients who we expect to have normal blood pressure (i.e. low-risk group), 100 patients who we expect to be at risk of new-onset high blood pressure postpartum (i.e. intermediate-risk group), and 100 patients who had high blood pressure prior to pregnancy (or very early, before 20 weeks in pregnancy) who we know are at high risk of blood-pressure related complications postpartum (i.e. high-risk group). Patients will be given a non-invasive wearable device that monitors blood pressure continuously for 6 weeks postpartum. We expect that the daily changes in blood pressure will be different between these groups, which may allow us to better predict who is at risk, how much monitoring is needed, and when to intervene before the blood pressure abnormalities cause complications. The blood pressure device that will be given to patients is the YHE® BP Doctor Med Blood Pressure Smartwatch. This is a highly-accurate medical grade device that has not received FDA clearance. As such, the device is not being used to make blood pressure management and treatment decisions, but rather to gather data on postpartum cardiovascular physiology. Safety stops are built into the protocol such that elevated readings detected by the watch will trigger clinical referrals and validation by standard blood pressure cuffs prior to determine need for treatment.