Urinary congophilia in preeclampsia: Experience from a rural tertiary-care hospital in India

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the presence of urinary congophilia amongIndian patients with preeclampsia.

Study design: A prospective case control study in which congophilia of urine samples from preeclamptic pregnant women (n = 62) and normotensive pregnant women (n = 65) was compared by using Congo Red Dot Blot assay.

Main outcome measures: Presence of urinary congophilia.

Results: Mean percentage of Congo Red Retention was 37.9 ± 4.1 in the normotensive pregnant group and 77.9 ± 11.5 in the preeclamptic pregnant group (P < .001). The mean percentage of Congo Red Retention in both early-onset (70.5 ± 9.0) and late-onset (82.7 ± 10.3) groups were significantly higher than in normotensive controls (P < .001). The mean percentage of Congo Red Retention in mild (61.2 ± 3.2) and severe (82.4 ± 8.4) types of preeclampsia were also as significantly higher than in normotensive controls (P < .001). The mean percentage of Congo Red Retention in preeclampsia superimposed by eclampsia (89.4 ± 2.0) and preeclampsia complicated by intrauterine growth restriction and intrauterine death (74.6 ± 5.8) were significantly higher than in normotensive controls (P < .001).

Conclusions: The results of this study confirms the presence of urinary congophilia in Indian pregnant women with preeclampsia. Furthermore, our study shows that urinary congophilia is not affected by clinical variables like gestational age of onset, severity, superimposition by eclampsia and complication by intrauterine growth restriction and intrauterine death. Urinary congophilia can be used to differentially identify preeclamptic pregnant women from normotensive pregnant women.

Keywords: Misfolded proteins; Preeclampsia; Urinary Congophilia.