A Comparative Study of High Sensitive C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) and Urinary Calcium/Creatinine Ratio in Normal Pregnancy and Pregnancy Induced Hypertension in Gujarat, India

Background: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a condition characterized by high blood pressure during pregnancy. It is the most common leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in females. Serum high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is one of the suitable markers for low grade inflammation evaluation. Urinary calcium-creatinine ratio (UCa/Cr) is a valuable marker for prediction of PIH.

Aim: To measure & correlate serum hs-CRP and urinary calcium-creatinine ratio in between pregnancy-induced hypertension and normal pregnancy.

Material & Methods: In present study total 150 subjects attending Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Sir Takhtsinhji Hospital, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, were included which were categorized in two groups. Group A: 75 patients of pregnancy-induced hypertension; Group B: 75 normal pregnant women as a control group. They were primarily diagnosed based on measurement of blood pressure, clinical examination followed by biochemical investigations like hs-CRP, urinary calcium & creatinine, RBS, urea, creatinine, uric acid, CK-MB. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before enrolling in the study.

Results: No significant change in the levels of biological parameters like RBS, urea, creatinine and CK-MB was observed in both the study groups (p>0.05) except serum uric acid shows a significant difference (p<0.001). The levels of hs-CRP were found to be significantly higher in patients of pregnancy-induced hypertension (7.81±3.681)as compared to the normal pregnant women (3.11±1.972)(p<0.0001) .UCa/Cr ratio had more sensitivity and specificity than hs-CRP for prediction of pregnancy-induced hypertension compared to normal pregnancy.

Conclusion: UCa/Cr ratio can be used as a more sensitive and specific test to detect pregnancy induced hypertension.