An Evaluation of Serum Uric Acid Estimations in Toxaemia of Pregnancy

Abstract

Summary 1. There was an increase in the proportion of patients with raised serum uric acid (SUA) levels with increasing severity of pre‐eclamptic toxaemia. 2. Raised SUA levels were also found in one‐third of patients with unclassified toxaemia. The criteria of diagnosis of unclassified toxaemia requires revision. 3. In the hypertensive patients in this study, the frequency of multiple pregnancy was twice that expected in normal pregnancy. 4. The ratio SUA/BUN x 100 was similar in pre‐eclampsia of all three grades of severity and in unclassified toxaemia, but the ratio in essential hypertension in this study was lower than in the other groups. Therefore this ratio may be of value in separating the patients with essential hypertension from the unclassified toxaemia patients. 5. While an elevated SUA from 6.0‐10.0 mg./100 ml. was suggestive of preeclampsia, and an increasing level was highly significant, half the patients with pre‐eclampsia had normal SUA levels. 6. There is a place for SUA estimations in the management of hypertension in pregnancy, but the results require to be interpreted in the light of clinical findings. patients under their care. Special thanks are due to Professor L. W. Cox for his interest in this study, and to Dr. J. R. Lawrence, for helpful criticism.