A new test that predicts with almost 100% accuracy that a pregnant woman will not develop pre-eclampsia within the following seven days is being fast-tracked for use across the NHS, sparing thousands of women nationwide a stressful hospital admission.
The test was successfully trialled by researchers and clinicians at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust at the John Radcliffe Hospital’s Women’s Centre. After the trial, the test was accepted as routine clinical practice at OUH last year.
A paper on the INSPIRE study, which proved the efficacy of the test, was published in the journal Hypertension. But the initiative is already being provided in numerous NHS trusts across the country.
The blood test, developed by Roche Diagnostics, measures the ratio of two placental factors – maternal serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) – that are released into the mother's blood.
The test is used in conjunction with standard clinical practice. Following its adoption at OUH, the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) oversaw the introduction of the test into other hospitals in the Thames Valley region and beyond, through the AHSN Network.
The test has now been identified for rapid uptake nationally by the Accelerated Access Collaborative, which identifies highly transformative innovations and introduces an accelerated pathway to market.