Preeclampsia prediction model using the dipstick test for proteinuria during early gestation

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to develop a prediction model for preeclampsia (PE) using routinely examined items in early pregnancy, in particular, the dipstick test for proteinuria.

Methods: A total of 9,086 pregnant women recruited in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study were included in the present study for analysis. Maternal basic characteristics were obtained by self-report, and blood pressure and dipstick test data were obtained from medical records. The assessed outcome was PE, including superimposed PE. We developed a prediction model without the dipstick test for proteinuria (Model 1) and a model with it (Model 2), and compared the two based on mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (mAUROC) using five-fold cross validation.

Results: The mAUROC of Model 1 was 0.769 (95% CI: 0.741 to 0.797) and that of Model 2 was 0.785 (95% CI: 0.758 to 0.812). The difference in mAUROC between the two models was 0.016 (95% CI: 0.004 to 0.028). In Model 2, detection rates were 40%, 49%, and 64% at false-positive detection rates of 5%, 10%, and 20%, respectively.

Conclusions: We improved a prediction model for PE using routine antenatal care items by including the dipstick test for proteinuria.