The Effects of Isolated Proteinuria Detected After 20 Weeks of Pregnancy on Perinatal Outcomes

Abstract

Proteinuria is a component of preeclampsia, and the presence of proteinuria without an increase in blood pressure can precede preeclampsia. This study aims to investigate the perinatal effects of isolated proteinuria detected in a 24-h urine sample after the 20th week of pregnancy. This is a prospective study of the perinatal outcomes of 60 pregnancies without proteinuria and matched 58 pregnancies with isolated proteinuria in patients consecutively admitted to the department of obstetrics at a university hospital in Turkey. The pregnant patients with proteinuria and without proteinuria were statistically similar with respect to age, gravidity, parity and the number of living children on enrolment. There were no significant differences in terms of gestational age at enrolment, gestational age at delivery, or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) between patients with isolated proteinuria and patients without proteinuria. However, preeclampsia developed significantly more frequently in patients with isolated proteinuria (20.6% vs 6.6%, p = 0.048). There were no significant differences in terms of newborn weight, Apgar scores, need for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), or umbilical artery blood pH in patients with proteinuria and without proteinuria. Isolated proteinuria after 20 weeks of pregnancy does not appear to impair maternal or foetal outcomes. Identifying pregnant women with risk factors for preeclampsia, ensuring they attend meticulous follow-up schedules and performing their delivery at tertiary health care centres would help to improve maternal and foetal morbidity and prevent perinatal mortality.