Background/aims: Current evidence has tried to extrapolate the use of the protein:creatinine ratio (PCR) in a single urine sample as a rapid diagnostic tool for preeclampsia (PE). The present study addresses the effectiveness of the PCR in the differential diagnosis of the pregnancy hypertensive disorder (PHD).
Methods: This is a prospective study conducted on patients admitted during 1 year with a diagnosis of PHD. These pregnant women were assessed for the correlation between the 24-hour test and the PCR to detect significant proteinuria. A ROC curve was made to determine the PCR cutoff value that would offer the best positive predictive value (PPV) as an early predictor of global and severe PE.
Results: A total of 72 patients with 24-hour proteinuria and PCR were studied (49 with PE). A significant correlation between the quick and the deferred sampling was observed (r = 0.60; p < 0.001). The ROC analysis showed a PCR of 0.36 as the best cutoff value for the diagnosis of global PE (PPV 96.4%; false-positive rate 4.4%; AUC 0.8802) and a cutoff value of 4.58 (sensitivity: 100%; PPV 87.5%; false-positive rate 3.5%; AUC 0.9805) as the best cutoff for the diagnosis of severe proteinuria.
Conclusions: PCR proved to be an effective test for the differential diagnosis of PHS.
© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.