Correlation of quantitative protein measurements in 8-, 12-, and 24-hour urine samples for the diagnosis of preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine if a patient's 8- and/or 12-hour urine total protein values correlate with the 24- hour value to confirm the diagnosis of preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: The study population included 65 patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Patients' urine was collected over 24 hours with the first 8 hours, next 4 hours, and remaining 12 hours collected in separate containers. The urine volume, and total protein and creatinine levels were measured in the 8-, 12-, and 24-hour samples. The 8- and 12-hour results were compared to the 24-hour results by use of simple regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 65 patients, 20 had no proteinuria, 37 had mild proteinuria, and 8 had severe proteinuria. The results of the 8- hour sample correlated with those of the 24-hour sample for patients with mild (P < .001) and severe disease (P = .003). The 12-hour sample correlated with the 24-hour sample for patients with no disease (P < .001), mild proteinuria (P < .001), and severe proteinuria (P = .0003). CONCLUSION: Total protein values for 8- and 12-hour urine samples correlate positively with values for 24-hour samples for patients with proteinuria. The results for 12- and 24-hour samples correlate for patients without proteinuria.