Predictive value of 4-, 8-, and 12-h urine protein and protein-to-creatinine ratio for detection of pre-eclampsia

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy of protein measurement and protein-to-creatinine ratio (PCR) in 4-, 8-, and 12-h urine samples as compared with 24-h urine samples as the gold standard method for suspected pre-eclampsia. MethodsIn a prospective study, 120 women at more than 20weeks of pregnancy with high blood pressure and no history of hypertension were enrolled between April 2010 and December 2012. Net protein excretion and PCR were evaluated in urine samples collected over 4h, 8h, 12h (day), and 12h (night) and compared with 24-h protein excretion as the gold standard test. ResultsA significant positive correlation was found between the values of the 4-h, 8-h, 12-h (day), and 12-h (night) samples and the 24-h samples. The best cutoff point of the PCR to detect significant urine protein excretion was 0.28, 0.24, 0.25, and 0.23 for the 4-h, 8-h, 12-h (day), and 12-h (night) samples, respectively. ConclusionMeasurement of protein and PCR in 4-h, 8-h, and 12-h urine samples might provide an alternative test for detecting proteinuria among pregnant women with suspected pre-eclampsia when there is insufficient time to collect 24-h urine samples.