Association between proteinuria and maternal and neonatal outcomes in pre-eclampsia pregnancy: a retrospective observational study

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between proteinuria and maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients beyond 20 weeks of gestation diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, who were admitted to Suzhou Municipal Hospital between December 2013 and December 2015. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from clinical records, including age, body mass index, newborn weight and Apgar score. Pre-eclampsia risk factors and perinatal outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 407 patients were enrolled, of whom, 402 with pre-eclampsia were included in the final analyses, divided into two groups: patients with proteinuria (n = 364 [90.55%]) and patients without proteinuria (n = 38 [9.45%]). Newborn 5-min Apgar scores were statistically lower in the proteinuria group versus the group without proteinuria (9.77 versus 9.95). Compared with patients without proteinuria, patients with proteinuria had a significantly higher rate of births before 37 weeks of gestation (50.80% versus 31.60%), but the incidence of preterm membrane rupture was significantly lower (3.8% versus 13.2%). CONCLUSION: Proteinuria may be associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in cases of pre-eclampsia.