SERUM ADAMTS9 LEVEL IN NEWBORN BABIES WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE.

Introduction & Objective ADAMTS-9, one of the ADAMTS enzymes, is expressed in all fetal tissues, unlike other ADAMTS enzymes, and is thus thought to play a role in fetal development. In this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between ADAMTS-9 activity and the development of Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) with a view to using ADAMTS-9 level as a biomarker for CHDs. Material & Method Newborns diagnosed with CHD and healthy newborns were included in the study as the CHD and control groups, respectively. Gestational age, maternal age, and mode of delivery information pertaining to the mothers and APGAR score and birth weight information pertaining to the newborns were recorded. Blood samples were taken from all newborns to determine their ADAMTS-9 levels in the first 24 hours of life. Results Fifty-eight newborns with CHD and 46 healthy newborns were included in the study. Median ADAMTS-9 levels were 46.57 [interquartile range(IQR):33.31 (min.26.92, max.124.25)] ng/ml and 23.36 [(IQR:5.48)(min.11.7, max.37.71)] ng/ml in the CHD and control groups, respectively. ADAMTS-9 levels in the CHD group were statistically significantly higher than in the control group (p=0.000). ADAMTS-9 levels of the CHD and control groups were analyzed by the receiver operating characteristics(ROC) curve. The area under the curve (AUC) value for ADAMTS-9levels of >27.86 ng/ml as the cut-off value for predicting the development of CHD in newborns was 0.836 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.753-0.900, p=0.0001]. ADAMTS-9 levels of >27.86 ng/ml were determined to predict the development of CHD in newborns with a sensitivity of 77.78% [95% CI: 65.5-87.38] and a specificity of 84.78% [95% CI: 71.1-93.60]. Conclusion In conclusion, it was found that the serum ADAMTS-9 levels were significantly higher in newborns with CHD than in healthy newborns. In parallel, ADAMTS-9 levels above a certain cut-off value were associated with CHD.