<p>Participant characteristics.</p>

The beta-actin gene (ACTB) represented total cfDNA (t-cfDNA).</p> <p>Results</p><p>ks-et2 and ks-et3 were higher in the PE group. Median ks-et2 was 231 copies/mL (IQR 65–383) versus 62 copies/mL (IQR 29–215) in NP controls (<i>P</i> = 0.028). Median ks-et3 was 81 copies/mL (IQR 28–199) in PE versus 20 copies/mL (IQR 9–81) for NP participants (<i>P</i> = 0.047). ks-et1 and t-cfDNA showed non-significant increases in PE.

Fractional ks-et quantities normalised to t-cfDNA did not differ between groups. Urinary creatinine levels were higher in the PE group (10.9 mmol/L (IQR 4.1–15.3) versus 3.9 mmol/L (IQR 2.3–5.6), <i>P</i> = 0.005). Urine creatinine demonstrated the highest AUC (0.76, 95% CI 0.59–0.92).</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>This exploratory study found that quantification of urinary ks-cfDNA was feasible and that absolute quantities of ks-cfDNA markers ks-et2 and ks-et3 were elevated in PE.

Consistent with previous studies, urinary creatinine was a good predictor of PE and outperformed ks-cfDNA in discriminating between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical utility and predictive ability of ks-cfDNA in PE.</p></div>