A correlation of 8-hour and 12-hour with 24-hour urinary protein among pregnant women with preeclampsia in a teaching hospital in South-Western Nigeria

Background and Objective: Proteinuria is one of the cardinal features of preeclampsia, which is a common and potentially severe complication of pregnancy. This study sought to determine how the quantitative measurement of urine protein from 8-hour and 12- hour samples correlate with that of a 24-hour sample in diagnosing preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: 52 eligible pregnant women with preeclampsia were recruited between April 2017 and April 2018. For each patient, having emptied the bladder at 0 hour, urine was collected into three different containers (containers 1, 2, 3) at 8th hour, 12th hour and 24th hour ensuring that the bladder was emptied into each container at hours 8, 12 and 24. Volumes of 8 hours urine (volume in container 1), 12 hours urine (total volume in containers 1 and 2), and 24 hours urine (total volumes in containers 1, 2 and 3) were measured and 5 ml aliquot respectively obtained from each sample for colorimetric analysis of urinary protein. Data was analyzed using the EPI Info software Results: A total of 52 patients completed the study. The mean gestational age was 33+ 2.82weeks. The mean 8-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour urinary protein values were 2.1+1.53, 2.3+1.52 and 3.1+1.89 respectively. There were significant correlations between the protein values of 8-and 12-hour urine samples with those of 24-hour urine samples Conclusion: 8-hour and 12-hour values of urine protein correlated positively with values in 24-hour samples and may be useful for initial assessment of cases of preeclampsia for prompt interventions.