[Value of proteinuria in assessing the severity of pre-eclampsia and its maternal and neonatal outcomes].

Objective

To investigate the value of proteinuria in evaluating the severity of pre-eclampsia (PE) and assessing the maternal and neonatal outcomes of PE.

Methods

The clinical records of 265 pregnant women who were diagnosed with PE at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2011 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to 24-hour urine protein (24-hUPro) results, pregnant women were divided into two groups: the non-proteinuric group (24-hUPro<0.3 g, n=10) and proteinuric group (24-hUPro≥0.3 g, n=255). The proteinuric group was further divided into 3 subgroups based on proteinuria levels: mild group (0.3 g≤24-hUPro<2.0 g, n=119), moderate group (2.0 g≤24-hUPro<5.0 g, n=59), and severe group (24-hUPro≥5.0 g, n=77). The demographic and clinical data, laboratory indicators, pregnancy complications, maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared between different groups.

Results

In proteinuric subgroups, increased proteinuria was associated with earlier onset gestations, higher incidence of headache, peripheral tissue edema, serosal effusion, intrauterine growth restriction, and abnormal umbilical cord blood flow (all P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of placental abruption, eclampsia and maternal mortality among the three subgroups, but there were significant differences in the incidence of neonatal birth weight and multiple neonatal complications (all P<0.05). Compared with the proteinuric group, the non-proteinuric group showed later onset gestation (median:34.7 vs 37.6 weeks) and gestational age of delivery (median:36.0 vs 38.4 weeks), lower proportion of ocular vascular lesions [56.7% (135/238) vs 2/9], higher birth weight (median: 2 325 vs 2 750 g), and lower rate of neonatal intensive care unit occupancy [54.3%(127/234) vs 1/10;all P<0.05].

Conclusions

The proteinuria plays an important role in assessing the severity of PE and maternal and neonatal outcomes, but it is not the only indicator. The non-proteinuric PE pregnant women might still lead to severe maternal and neonatal outcomes.