Urinary Protein-to-Creatinine Ratio: An Indicator of Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Preeclampsia With Proteinuria

Background and objective Preeclampsia is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among pregnant women and leads to poor fetomaternal outcomes. Predicting fetal and maternal health outcomes will enable early interventions so as to reduce further damage. Various biochemical tests like beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG), inhibin A, activin A, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), fetal DNA, and color Doppler have been studied for their ability to predict fetal and maternal health outcomes; however, most of these tests are complex and costly. Among the many variables that indicate the severity of outcomes in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, the urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR) is an important index. The aim of the study was to find out the association between UPCR and fetomaternal outcomes in preeclampsia. Material and methods A prospective observational study was conducted among 141 women with preeclampsia presenting with proteinuria, who were divided into two groups: 11% with UPCR <0.3 and 89% with UPCR ≥0.3. These patients were followed up till delivery to look for maternal and fetal outcomes. Results The sensitivity of UPCR for predicting adverse maternal outcomes was 79.37% (95% CI: 71.25-86.06), specificity was 46.67% (95% CI: 21.27-73.41), positive predictive value (PPV) was 92.59% (95% CI: 88.53-95.29), negative predictive value (NPV) was 21.21% (95% CI: 12.43-33.81), and the accuracy was 75.79% (95% CI: 67.97-82.69); for adverse fetal outcomes, the sensitivity was 76.98% (95% CI: 68.65-84.01), specificity was 13.33% (95% CI: 1.66-40.46), PPV was 88.18% (95% CI: 85.69-90.29), NPV was 6.45% (95% CI: 1.79-20.67), and the accuracy was 70.21% (95% CI: 61.94-77.62). Conclusion Based on our findings, UPCR is a simple laboratory tool that can help predict abnormal fetomaternal outcomes in preeclampsia with good sensitivity and PPV and can be used as an adjunct to assist in clinical decisions.