Introduction: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder of humans which rates among one of the major cases of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Etiology of preeclampsia is still largely unraveled and treatment is syndrome specific.
Objective: Evaluation of the incidence of preeclampsia in twin pregnancies and comparison of selected clinical characteristics among preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic twin pregnancy patients.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of 194 normotensive and 25 preeclamptic patients with twin pregnancies admitted to the Lublin State Hospital Nr 4 between January 1st 1992 and December 31st 1997. Patients were matched for gravidity, parity, maternal age and selected biochemical parameters.
Results: Preeclampsia occurred two times more frequently in nulliparous women (68% vs 32%). Gravidas with preeclampsia had significantly higher serum uric acid levels than their non-preeclamptic counterparts (6.7 +/- 0.3 vs 4.3 +/- 0.1; p < 0.001). Hypertension, proteinuria and edema coexisted concomitantly in 52% of preeclamptic patients.
Conclusions: 1. Preeclampsia complicates one tenth of twin pregnancies. 2. In preeclamptic women nulliparas were two times more frequent. 3. In preeclamptic women is significantly higher level of uric acid.