Die Aussagekraft einer einmaligen Bestimmung der Harnsäurekonzentration im Serum zur Früherfassung der hypertensiven Schwangerschaftskomplikationen* **

Abstract

In 200 healthy, normotensive nulliparous women, a single determination of serum uric acid concentration was done between weeks 28-32 of gestation in order to identify a possible increased risk of developing hypertensive complications. If serum concentrations higher than 3.6 mg/dl were considered as increased ("positive test"), women who developed toxaemia of late pregnancy (proteinuric hypertension), had a significantly elevated mean serum uric acid concentration already at the beginning of the third trimester (p less than 0.01). The incidence of toxaemia and hypertensive disease without proteinuria was significantly higher in the group of women with an elevated uric acid value (p less than 0.001). Only 9% of pregnant women with a "negative test" ultimately developed a mild form of a hypertensive complication. Conversely, 74% of the patients with a "positive test" remained normotensive. Thus, the predictive value of a "positive test" is low (26%) and that of a "negative test" relatively high (91%).