Objective: To characterize the clinical features of women with singleton pregnancies who develop proteinuria in the absence of hypertension after mid-gestation.
Methods: Seventy-nine women who developed proteinuria and/or hypertension at and after 20 weeks of gestation were reviewed, focusing on the gestational week at which significant proteinuria (>0.3 g/day) and/or hypertension developed.
Results: Thirty-seven (47%) women exhibited new-onset proteinuria (>0.3 g/day) in the absence of hypertension, 33 (42%) exhibited new-onset hypertension in the absence of proteinuria, and 9 (11%) exhibited both proteinuria and hypertension. Nineteen (51%) of 37 women who exhibited new proteinuria in the absence of hypertension and 5 (15%) of 33 women who exhibited new hypertension in the absence of proteinuria progressed to preeclampsia (P=0.002). Among women who exhibited new proteinuria, 10 (77%) out of 13 women and 9 (38%) out of 24 women who developed proteinuria at <32 weeks and >or=32 weeks, respectively, progressed to preeclampsia (P=0.022).
Conclusions: Women with new-onset proteinuria in the absence of hypertension may be more likely to progress to preeclampsia than women with a presumptive diagnosis of gestational hypertension, and the likelihood of progression may be significantly greater among women with earlier presentation.