Premium
Serum Uric Acid as a Marker of Pregnancy‐Induced Hypertension
Author(s) -
Hickman Peter E.,
Michael Con. A.,
Potter Julia M.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1982.tb01444.x
Subject(s) - uric acid , pregnancy , medicine , obstetrics , endocrinology , andrology , biology , genetics
Summary: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted, looking at the changes in serum uric acid during pregnancy in women who were normotensive at initial presentation. In our sample of 78 women having a total of 88 singleton pregnancies, 13 developed pregnancy‐induced hypertension during labour only, whilst a further 6 developed hypertension during pregnancy. Women who developed hypertension had significantly higher uric acid levels than women who remained normotensive throughout. However, there was an appreciable overlap between the groups. Women with essential hypertension showed similar changes. We conclude that the serum uric acid level is an unreliable indicator of developing hypertension in the individual woman. However, a rapidly rising uric acid level should be viewed with caution.