Simple Prepregnant Prediction Rule for Recurrent Early-onset Hypertensive Disease in Pregnancy

Objective: We aimed to develop a simple clinically useful prediction rule for early-onset recurrent preeclampsia and/or HELLP syndrome. Methods: Women with previous early-onset preeclampsia and/or HELLP, enrolled between 1996 and 2007, and a subsequent ongoing pregnancy were included. Prepregnant cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and clotting parameters were evaluated as potential predictors for recurrent disease by logistic regression analysis. Results: Early-onset preeclampsia and/or HELLP recurred in 16 (9%) of 186 next pregnancies. The prediction model included high-density lipoprotein (mmol/L) and 24-hour urinary total protein excretion (mg/mmol creatinine). The receiver operating characteristic area was 0.77 (95% confidence interval: 0.68-0.87). Predictive sensitivity and specificity were 94% (69%-99%) and 53% (45%-60%), respectively. Nearly 50% of the women could be classified as having < 1% risk of recurrent early-onset disease. Conclusions: The prediction rule identified, with clinically relevant predictive capacity, those women at very low risk for recurrent early-onset disease.