Urine test useful for detecting pregnancy problem

Urine testing for kidney cells can help detect preeclampsia, a potentially serious condition involving high blood pressure and fluid retention during pregnancy, according to findings published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In the new study, Dr. Vesna D. Garovic, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined whether podocyturia, the term for the presence of certain kidney cells in the urine, can identify pregnant women with preeclampsia.

Podocyturia was present in all patients with preeclampsia. Compared with healthy women, those with preeclampsia showed significantly greater podocyturia.

Moreover, podocyturia was a better predictor of preeclampsia than any of the blood tests the researchers examined.

Further studies are needed, however, to determine exactly why greater numbers of kidney cells are released into the urine of women with preeclampsia, the team notes.

SOURCE: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, April 2007.