Urinary calcium/creatinine ratio as a predictor of preeclampsia

Hypocalciuria has been associated with preeclampsia (gestational hypertension with proteinuria or other maternal organ dysfunction) but not usually with pure gestational hypertension or normal pregnancy. We hypothesized that hypocalciuria would be a marker of emerging preeclampsia in women presenting with gestational hypertension who later developed preeclampsia. Eighty-one women with de novo hypertension in the second half of pregnancy (n = 81) were enrolled prospectively. At first assessment, calcium/creatinine ratio was determined in a spot urine. Patients were followed until delivery and were classified subsequently according to the occurrence of preeclampsia. Gestational hypertensive patients who became preeclamptic (n = 31) had lower urinary calcium/creatinine ratios at presentation (ratio = 0.07, interquartile range [IQR] = 0.04-0.11) than women who remained as gestational hypertensives (n = 50; ratio = 0.17, IQR = 0.08-0.21; P = .002). Intact plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations were similar between groups. Using a receiver operator curve, the best threshold value for the development of preeclampsia was a calcium/creatinine ratio of 0.10, which yielded a sensitivity of only 68% and a specificity of 70%. A low calcium/creatinine ratio preceded the emergence of preeclampsia by 12 (7-24) (median [IQR]) days among a group of women with gestational hypertension. Though this implies primary or secondary disturbances of renal calcium handling even before preeclampsia is clinically apparent, this measurement does not have sufficient sensitivity to recommend its use as a screening test for the emergence of preeclampsia.