THE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF SERUM URIC ACID FOR THE OCCURRENCE, SEVERITY AND OUTCOMES OF PRE-ECLAMPSIA AMONG PARTURIENTS AT NNEWI, NIGERIA.

Objective: To determine the predictive value of serum uric acid for preeclampsia, its severity and pregnancy outcome.

Methods: This is a cohort study that was performed on normal pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi Nigeria. Serum uric acid was determined in 200 women attending antenatal clinic between the gestational ages of 14 and 26 weeks. The women were followed up at 2 weekly intervals until 36 weeks and weekly thereafter until delivery. Women who developed pre-eclampsia or eclampsia were identified. Pregnancy outcomes were determined as well as fetal and placental weights. The data was analised with SPSS version 16.0. The chi square was used for test of significance. The positive and negative predictive values were determined.

Results: A total of 200 normal pregnant women were recruited for the study. Nine of them were lost to follow up. Subsequently, 10.5% of the women developed preeclampsia. The positive and negative predictive values of serum uric acid for preeclampsia were 78.9% and 97.1%, respectively.

Conclusion: Serum uric acid was found to be a useful predictor of the occurrence of preeclampsia and its severity.