TITLE:
Variations in Von Willebrand Factor Concentration Associated with Hemorrhagic Pathological Pregnancies at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Symphorien Ewodo, Claudia Vanelle Djidjion, Madye Ngo Dingom, Tracy Grace Njike Alima, Donald Muwud Tebo, Charlotte Tchente Nguefack, Dieudonné Adiogo
KEYWORDS:
Pathological Pregnancy, Von Willebrand Factor, Feto-Maternal Distress, Yaoundé Central Hospital
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels rise physiologically during normal pregnancy. Failure of this rise may underlie hemorrhagic pathological pregnancies, as maternal-fetal cellular distress is thought to drive abnormal VWF production. This study aimed to describe VWF level variation among women with hemorrhagic pathological pregnancies at the Yaoundé Central Hospital (YCH). Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the Clinical Biology Laboratory and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of YCH between February and May 2025. A 5 mL venous blood sample without anticoagulant was collected from each eligible patient on admission and centrifuged; VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) was measured in serum by sandwich ELISA (Biofine reagent). Data were analyzed with SPSS version 26.0, using the chi-square test for proportions and the independent-samples t-test for comparison of means. Results: Among 834 pregnant women received during the study period, 91 (10.9%) presented with a hemorrhagic pathological pregnancy; 80 consented and were sampled. The overall mean VWF:Ag concentration was 163.60% ± 25.80% (1.64 ± 0.26 IU/mL). VWF:Ag concentration was higher, but not significantly so, in women with blood group O (167.44% ± 21.34%) than in non-O women (157.82% ± 30.79%; mean difference 9.62 percentage points, 95% CI −2.94 to 22.18; p = 0.13), and higher, again not significantly, in the presence of fetal complications (169.76% ± 24.44%) than in their absence (159.83% ± 26.69%; mean difference 9.93 percentage points, 95% CI −1.45 to 21.31; p = 0.09). VWF levels varied with disease severity across pathology subgroups; this reached statistical significance only for ruptured ectopic pregnancy (hemodynamic instability vs. stability; p = 0.004) and was of borderline significance for retroplacental hematoma (Sher grade 3 vs. grade 2; p = 0.048), while differences by severity of pre-eclampsia, hemorrhagic placenta previa, and postpartum hemorrhage were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Most between-group differences in VWF:Ag concentration, including the higher levels seen in blood-group-O women, were not statistically significant; a significant difference was observed only for hemodynamic instability in ruptured ectopic pregnancy, with a borderline difference by Sher grade in retroplacental hematoma. These exploratory findings suggest VWF concentration may track maternal-fetal distress in hemorrhagic pathological pregnancy, but given the small subgroup sizes this remains hypothesis-generating and warrants confirmation in larger, adequately powered, multicenter studies.