NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women with dipstick-positive hematuria can be reassured that their pregnancy is unlikely to be affected by the condition, Australian researchers advise. However, these patients should be followed up after delivery to identify those with glomerulonephritis.

Previous studies have suggested a greater risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes when microscopic hematuria is present. To further investigate the issue, Dr. Mark A. Brown and colleagues at St. George Hospital in Kogarah conducted a prospective case-control study that they report in the April issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Of 902 women studied, 178 (20%) had trace or greater hematuria at two or more visits during pregnancy without concomitant urinary tract infection. The authors compared outcomes for the 126 whose hematuria occurred prior to 32 weeks gestation and 126 control subjects matched to date of entry into the study.

There was "no statistically significant difference in gestation at delivery, first-trimester blood pressure, or the likelihood of developing preeclampsia or gestational hypertension or delivery of a small-for-gestational-age baby," the authors report.

Likewise, there were no significant differences between those developing hematuria during the first 32 weeks and those with later onset.

Sixty-five women with hematuria before 32 weeks attended a nephrology clinic; of these, 39% had no further evidence of hematuria on urine microscopic examination. Only one had an abnormal renal ultrasound result (asymptomatic renal calculus).

Of 46% who attended the nephrology clinic 3 months after delivering, 51% received a presumptive diagnosis of mild glomerulonephritis.

"We recommend that no additional clinical investigations are required during pregnancy in women found to have dipstick-positive hematuria in the absence of urinary tract infection," Dr. Brown's team writes.

They do advise that these women be followed up postpartum, since a diagnosis of glomerulonephritis requires ongoing surveillance.

Am J Kidney Dis 2005;45:667-673.

Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters Limited content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters Limited. Reuters Limited shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.