Investigatation of diagnostic value of random urine protein/creatinine ratio in pre-eclampsia

Standard diagnostic procedure for significant proteinuria is based on 24-hour urine collection. However, this method is time consuming and may lead to incomplete urine collection. Instead, random urine protein/creatinine ratio could be used as an alternative method for evaluation of proteinuria. This study investigates the diagnostic value of random urine protein/creatinine ratio for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. In this cross-sectional study a group of 96 patients with pre-eclampsia and a group of healthy pregnant women were recruited. All cases were checked for urine protein by assessing urine analysis, 24-hour urine, and random urine protein/creatinine ratio. Data were analyzed using SPSS and ROC curve. Then a cutoff point of random urine protein/ creatinine ratio was determined. Area under the curve for random Pr/Cr was calculated as 0.785 (CI %95: 0.721-0.849) (p<0.001). The best diagnostic cutoff point for protein/creatinine ratio was determined as 0.325. In this point sensitivity and specificity were 81.3% and 66.7% respectively. As a result, a positive correlation between random urine protein/creatinine ratio and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.284, p = 0.005) was observed. Based on these results, random urine protein/creatinine ratio in a cutoff point of 0.325 could be suggested for preeclampsia.