Uric acid levels: a useful index of the severity of preeclampsia and perinatal prognosis.

Maximum serum uric acid (SUA) levels during the third trimester of pregnancy were selected in 215 hypertensive pregnant women: 100 with mild preeclampsia (PE), 25 with severe PE, 70 with essential hypertension (EH) and 20 with EH with superimposed PE (EH + PE). The increase in SUA levels was statistically significant in women with severe PE (6.22 mg% +/- 1.30 mg%) and with EH + PE (6.09 mg% +/- 1.53 mg%) when compared with values in mild PE and EH women (4.85 mg% +/- 1.34 mg% and 4.95 mg% +/- 1.22 mg%, respectively). A significant decrease in average gestational age at delivery and a greater percentage of small-for-gestational age newborns were observed in women with severe PE and EH + PE, compared with patients with mild PE and EH. No correlation within the groups was found between SUA levels and fetal weight. To conclude, the determination of SUA concentration for the clinical screening of a pregnancy complicated by hypertension is an easy and inexpensive method for the prediction of perinatal results associated with severe PE.