Girsberger et al.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-018-1796-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Short term sequelae of preeclampsia:

a single center cohort study
Michael Girsberger1* , Catherine Muff2, Irene Hösli2 and Michael Jan Dickenmann1

Abstract
Background: Data on the prevalence of persistent symptoms in the first year after preeclampsia are limited.
Furthermore, possible risk factors for these sequelae are poorly defined. We investigated kidney function, blood
pressure, proteinuria and urine sediment in women with preeclampsia 6 months after delivery with secondary
analysis for possible associated clinical characteristics.
Methods: From January 2007 to July 2014 all women with preeclampsia and 6-months follow up at the University
Hospital Basel were analyzed. Preeclampsia was defined as new onset of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) and either
proteinuria or signs of end-organ dysfunction. Hypertension was defined as a blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg or
the use of antihypertensive medication. Proteinuria was defined as a protein-to-creatinine ratio in a spot urine
> 11 mg/mmol. Urine sediment was evaluated by a nephrologist. Secondary analyses were performed to
investigate for possible parameters associated with persistent symptoms after preeclampsia.
Results: Two hundred two women were included into the analysis. At a mean time of follow up of 172 days
(+/− 39.6) after delivery, mean blood pressure was 124/76 mmHg (+/− 14/11, range 116–182/63–110) and the mean
serum-creatinine was 61.8 μmol/l (33–105 μmol/l) (normal < 110 μmol/l). Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate
using CKD-EPI was 110.7 mml/min/1.73m2 (range 59.7–142.4 mml/min/1.73m2) (normal > 60 mml/min/1.73m2).
20.3% (41/202) had a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher (mean 143/89 mmHg) or were receiving
antihypertensive medication (5.5%, 11/202). Proteinuria was present in 33.1% (66/199) (mean 27.5 mg/mmol).
Proteinuria and hypertension was present in 8% (16/199). No active urine sediment (e.g. signs of
glomerulonephritis) was observed. Age and gestational diabetes were associated with persistent proteinuria and
severe preeclampsia with eGFR decline of ≥ 10 ml/min/1.73m2.
Conclusion: Hypertension and proteinuria are common after 6 months underlining the importance of close follow
up to identify those women who need further care.
Keywords: Preeclampsia, Follow-up, Sequelae

Background long-term sequelae. Studies in the past have shown an in-

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy related disease defined as creased risk of kidney biopsy [2] indicating kidney disease
new onset of hypertension and either proteinuria or signs or end-stage renal failure [3, 4]. There is also evidence of
of other end-organ dysfunction (e.g. hepatic abnormality, increased risk of chronic hypertension following an
pulmonary edema, thrombocytopenia). Preeclampsia oc- episode of preeclampsia [5–7].
curs in approximately 5% of pregnancies [1], and is there- To identify those with chronic hypertension or pro-
fore a frequent disorder complicating gestation. Apart teinuria after delivery, it is important to know the usual
from the high morbidity with sometimes even life- time of resolution of these symptoms. Guidelines state
threatening implications for mother and child during the that blood pressure should normalize in the first
acute phase of the disease, there are also concerns about 3 months [8] and referral is considered if hypertension
or proteinuria persists after three to 6 months [9, 10].
* Correspondence: [email protected] However, there is data indicating that hypertension per-
1
Clinic for Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology, University Hospital
Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland sists in almost 40% of patients after 3 months and still is
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

© The Author(s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver
(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 2 of 7

present in 18% after 2 years [11]. In one study almost squared test was used to compare frequencies. Different
29% of patients were hypertensive after 5 years, although denominators in the results section are due to missing
sample size was small [12]. Therefore, the time to define data in a few patients.
chronicity of symptoms remains unclear. In regard to
the few existing studies, we hypothesized that a signifi- Results
cant part of patients still show sequelae of preeclampsia Of the 225 women referred to our nephrology clinic, 23
6 months after pregnancy. The aim of the study was to were lost to follow-up (10%). Two hundred two were in-
determine the frequency of hypertension, proteinuria cluded in the analysis. The mean time of the follow up
and eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) decline visit was 172 days (+/− 39.6) after delivery. Mean age
6 months after preeclampsia and to search for possible of the 202 women was 32 years (18–45 years). 58.2%
parameters associated with these endpoints. (117/201) were pregnant for the first time (primigrav-
ida). In 22.2% (43/194) of the patient’s preeclampsia
Methods occurred before 34 weeks of gestation. Severe pre-
From January 2007 to July 2014 all women with pre- eclampsia was observed in 67% (132/197) and eclamp-
eclampsia at the University Hospital Basel referred to our sia as the most severe form was seen in 2% (4/198). 90.1%
nephrology clinic were included into the study. As by our (181/201) had no pre-existing diseases before pregnancy
hospital policy, all patients with preeclampsia are referred (diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease or hyperten-
for nephrology follow-up after 6 months. Patients were sion). Baseline characteristics are shown in Table 1.
closely followed by their family doctor or obstetrician and Distribution of blood pressure and urinary protein ex-
referred earlier if necessary. Preeclampsia was defined as cretion at follow-up are shown in Fig. 1a and b. The mean
new onset of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) after the blood pressure at 6-months follow up was 124/76 mmHg
20th gestational week or worsening hypertension (defined (+/− 14/11, range 116–182/63–110) and the mean
as blood pressure values ≥20/10 mmHg higher than previ- serum-creatinine was 61.8 μmol/l (33–105 μmol/l)
ously measured during pregnancy) in patients with pre- (normal < 110 μmol/l). Mean estimated glomerular
existing elevated blood pressure and either proteinuria or filtration rate (eGFR) using CKD-EPI (chronic kidney
other signs of end-organ dysfunction. The gynaecology disease epidemiology collaboration) was 110.7 ml/min/
department of the University Hospital of Basel had been 1.73m2 (59.7–142.4 ml/min/1.73m2) (normal > 60 mml/
in the practice of defining preeclampsia without the pro- min/1.73m2). 20.3% (41/202) had a blood pressure of
teinuria requirement, as was later confirmed by the 140/90 mmHg or higher (mean 143/89 mmHg) or
ACOG 2013 guidelines [13]. Hypertension was defined as received antihypertensive medication (5.5%, 11/202).
a blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg or the use of antihyper- Proteinuria was present in 33.1% (66/199) (mean
tensive medication. This definition was used for inclusion 27.5 mg/mmol, range 12–261 mg/mmol). Proteinuria
into the study as well as at follow up. The presence of se- and hypertension were present in 8% (16/199) (Fig. 2).
vere hypertension (≥160/110 mmHg), acute renal failure 54.3% (108/199) had none of the investigated sequelae
or oliguria, eclamptic seizure, pulmonary lung oedema, at follow up. No active urine sediment (e.g. glomerular
signs of HELLP-Syndrome, hyperreflexia, severe head-
Table 1 Baseline characteristics
aches, visual disturbances or intra uterine growth retard-
Age mean (±SD) 32 (± 5.9)
ation with or without pathological Doppler ultrasound
resulted in a diagnosis of severe preeclampsia [14]. Acute Onset of preeclampsia (gestational week) 36 + 3 (± 3.9 weeks)
mean (±SD)
kidney injury was defined as a rise in serum creatinine
concentration of more than 50% from baseline during Early Onset (< 34 weeks of gestation) (43/195) 22.1%
hospitalisation. The presence of pre-existing conditions Nulliparous (150/199) 75.4%
like hypertension, diabetes mellitus or kidney disease was Multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets) (27/202) 13.4%
gathered from medical records. Proteinuria was defined as In vitro fertilisation (13/202) 6.4%
a protein-to-creatinine ratio in a spot urine > 11 mg/mmol Diabetes before pregnancy (4/201) 1.99%
[15]. Decline of kidney function was defined as a decrease
Gestational diabetes (19/202) 9.4%
in eGFR ≥10 ml/min/1.73m2. Urine sediments were
evaluated by a staff nephrologist. For secondary analyses, Previous hypertension (16/202) 7.9%
a multivariate logistic regression model was applied. HELLP (41/198) 20.7%
Univariate analysis was conducted in all variables with at Eclampsia (4/198) 2.0%
least 15 observations and variables with a p-value < 0.2 Severe preeclampsia (132/197) 67%
were added to the model. Wilcoxon Mann Whitney test Acute kidney injury (17/197) 8.6%
was used to compare medians due to skewed distribution
Chronic kidney disease (4/201) 1.99%
of the baseline characteristics in the subgroups; chi-
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 3 of 7

a b

Fig. 1 a and b Distribution of urinary protein excretion and blood pressure at follow-up

microhematuria, casts, signs of glomerulonephritis) was in life [2–4]. To our knowledge, our study is the largest on
observed. short term sequelae after preeclampsia. It shows that a
Baseline characteristics in women with sequelae at significant part of patients with preeclampsia have
follow-up are shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4. Multivariate ongoing sequelae 6 months after delivery. 20% remain
logistic regression analyses showed an association of age hypertensive and one third have persistent proteinuria. 8%
and gestational diabetes with proteinuria > 11 mg/mmol have combined hypertension and proteinuria. If hyperten-
and proteinuria ≥30 mg/mmol at follow-up, respectively. sion or proteinuria persists 6 months after delivery,
Additionally, severe preeclampsia was associated with an different guidelines state that referral for internal medicine
eGFR decline ≥10 ml/min/1.73m2. None of the or nephrology and further diagnostics should be
investigated parameters were associated with persistent considered [9, 10].
hypertension (Table 5). Berks et al. [11] reported proteinuria in 14% of pa-
tients after 3 months and 8% after 2 years. When apply-
Discussion ing, a proteinuria cut off of 0.3 g/d as done by this
Persistent proteinuria and hypertension after pre- group, proteinuria was present in 8% in our study after
eclampsia have been reported in several studies. Pro- 6 months, which is consistent with the 14% after
teinuria in the first few months after preeclampsia is 3 months in Berks’ study. However, Berks et al. mea-
common [11, 16, 17], and can be detected up to several sured proteinuria by 24-h urine collection, whereas a
years. Hypertension can also persist for months and creatinine-protein ratio to estimate proteinuria was used
even for years [11, 12, 18]. Decreased kidney function is in this study, which makes a direct comparison of this
uncommon even after short term follow up in contrast to low range proteinuria results more difficult. In a study
persistent hypertension and proteinuria [4, 12, 16, 19]. by Chua et al. [20], proteinuria was absent after
However, there is data indicating that the risk of chronic 3 months, but a relatively high cut off of 0.5 g/24 h was
kidney disease after preeclampsia might be increased later used. Again, proteinuria was measured with 24-h urine

Fig. 2 Prevalence of hypertension, proteinuria and eGFR decline at mean follow-up of 172 days (± 39.6) after delivery
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 4 of 7

Table 2 Baseline characteristics (median (IQR)) of women with hypertension at follow-up

No HT (n = 164) BP ≥140/90 (n = 38) p-value No HT (n = 187) BP ≥ 150/100 (n = 15) p-value
Age 32 (28–36) 34 (30–37) 0.16 32 (28–36) 32 (29–40) 0.59
Onset (d) 260 (241–274) 250 (233–267) 0.08 259 (241–273) 250 (217–263) 0.12
Early onset 20.3% (32/158) 29.7% (11/37) 0.21 21.1% (38/180) 33.3% (5/15) 0.27
Nulliparous 75.6% (124/162) 68% (26/38) 0.30 75.1% (139/185) 73.3% (11/15) 0.88
Time to f/u (d) 180 (155–191) 182 (132–190) 0.33 180 (153–191) 176 (121–187) 0.18
MP 14.0% (23/164) 10.5% (4/38) 0.57 14.4% (27/187) 0% (0/15) 0.11
IVF 6.7% (11/164) 5.7% (2/38) 0.74 7.0% (13/187) 0% (0/15) 0.29
GD 7.9% (13/164) 15.8% (6/38) 0.13 9.1% (17/187) 13.3% (2/15) 0.56
HELLP 21.9% (35/160) 15.8% (6/38) 0.40 21.9% 40/183 6.7% (1/15) 0.16
Severe PE 67.3% (107/159) 64.1% (25/39) 0.86 67.0% (122/182) 66.7% (10/15) 0.97
AKI 9.7% (14/145) 5.3% (3/38) 0.86 7.7% (14/182) 20.0% 3/15 0.10
HT Hypertension, BP Blood pressure in mmHg, PE Preeclampsia, AKI Acute kidney injury, GD gestational diabetes; f/u follow-up, d days

collection. Another study reported persistent Microal- findings suggest that there is no further resolution of
buminuria in up to 60% of patients 2–4 months after hypertension after 6 months in contrast to proteinuria
preeclampsia and in still 40% after 3–5 years using a which was only present in 2% after 2 years. Another ex-
considerably low cut off for microalbuminuria of planation might be the difference in severe preeclampsia
14 mg/24 h [19]. Overall, despite conflicting evidence of 67% in our study to 89% in the study by Berks et al.
proteinuria seems to be a relevant short-term sequela and thereby a faster resolution of symptoms in our
after preeclampsia. In our secondary analysis, older age at study. In another study from Japan [16] 17% (9/52) of
baseline was associated with proteinuria > 11 mg/mmol, women with preeclampsia still had hypertensive blood
but not with proteinuria > 30 mg/mmol. Gestational dia- pressure values or received antihypertensive medication
betes was associated with proteinuria > 30 mg/mmol. after 2 years. This value is close to the 18% of women
However, given the large confidence interval with the with hypertension after 2 years in the study by Berks et
lower range close to 1, this finding might be significant by al., although the percentage of patients with severe pre-
chance. Furthermore, as we know from diabetic kidney eclampsia was not reported in the Japanese study. In a
disease, it usually takes years of abnormal glucose metab- third study from Iran [12], 29% (10/35) were still hyper-
olism to result in kidney damage with proteinuria, making tensive after a median follow up of 5.7 years. We could
this finding also clinically unlikely. not identify any clinical parameters associated with per-
In our study, 20% of women were hypertensive after sistent hypertension in our secondary analysis. In a sub-
6 months. In the study by Berks et al., 39% of women group analysis in 129 women with available data on peak
had hypertensive blood pressure values after 3 months hypertensive values at baseline, peak systolic blood pres-
and 18% were still hypertensive after 2 years [11]. These sure was significantly associated (p = 0.04) with

Table 3 Baseline characteristics (median (IQR)) of women with proteinuria at follow-up

No UPE (n = 134) UPE > 0.11 (n = 66) p-value No UPE (n = 184) UPE ≥30 (n = 16) p-value
Age 31 (28–35) 35 (28–38) 0.16 32 (29–36) 34 (25–38) 0.80
Onset (d) 260 (238–272) 258 (246–272) 0.61 259 (240–272) 266 (248–279) 0.29
Early onset 24.8% (32/129) 14.1% (9/64) 0.09 22.6% (40/177) 6.25% (1/16) 0.13
Nulliparous 75.2% (100/133) 73.9% (48/65) 0.84 73.6% (134/182) 87.5% (14/16) 0.22
Time to f/u (d) 183 (157–191) 172 (138–187) 0.06 180 (154–190) 160 (114–195) 0.42
MP 12.7% (17/134) 15.2% (10/66) 0.61 14.1% (26/184) 6.3% (1/16) 0.34
IVF 4.5% (6/134) 10.6% (7/66) 0.10 6.5%(12/184) 6.3% (1/16) 0.97
GD 7.5% (10/134) 16.7% (9/66) 0.16 8.2%(15/184) 25.0% (4/16) 0.02
HELLP 22.7% (30/132) 16.9% (11/65) 0.35 22.1% (40/181) 6.3% (1/16) 0.13
Severe 67.2% (88/131) 66.2%(43/65) 0.89 66.1% (119/180) 75% (12/16) 0.45
AKI 9.9% (13/131) 6.2%(4/65) 0.34 8.3% (15/180) 12.5% (2/16) 0.57
UPE urinary protein excretion, HT Hypertension, BP Blood pressure in mmHg, PE Preeclampsia, AKI Acute kidney injury, GD gestational diabetes; f/u follow-up; d days
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 5 of 7

Table 4 Baseline characteristics (median (IQR)) of women with decline in eGFR ≥10 ml/min/1.73 m2 at follow-up
No eGFR decline (n = 170) eGFR decline (n = 27) p-value
Age 33 (28–37) 31 (27–35) 0.20
Onset (d) 258 (240–272) 261 (241–273) 0.64
Early onset 21.8% (36/165) 18.5% (5/27) 0.70
Nulliparous 75.7% (128/169) 66.7% (18/27) 0.32
Time to f/u (d) 180 (152–190) 179 (154–190) 0.93
MD 15.3% (26/170) 3.7% (1/27) 0.10
IVF 7.7% (13/170) 0% (0/27) 0.14
GD 8.8% (15/170) 14.8% (4/27) 0.33
HELLP 21.2% (36/170) 18.5% (5/27) 0.75
Severe PE 70% (119/170) 48.2% (13/27) 0.03
AKI 10.1% (17/169) 0% (0/27) 0.09
HT Hypertension, BP Blood pressure in mmHg, PE Preeclampsia, AKI Acute kidney injury, GD gestational diabetes, f/u follow-up; d days

persistent hypertensive values ≥ 150/100 mmHg at

follow-up, but not persistent proteinuria or eGFR
decline.
Table 5 Multivariate logistic regression analysis for Data on kidney function in the first months to years
hypertension, proteinuria and eGFR at follow-up after preeclampsia are limited. In the study by Shahba-
Odds ratio p-value 95% conf. interval zian et al. [12] the mean estimated glomerular filtration
BP ≥140/90 mmHg rate (eGFR) after a mean follow up of 5.7 years was
Age 1.05 0.18 0.98–1.12
108 ml/min (+/− 14 ml/min). Bar et al. found a mean
creatinine of 79.2 μmol/l and 70.4 μmol/l after 2 to
Time to f/u (d) 0.99 0.08 0.98–1.00
4 months and after 3 to 5 years, respectively [19]. Shammas
Onset (d) 0.99 0.20 0.99–1.00 and others described no difference in renal function 10 years
GD 2.16 0.16 0.74–6.34 after hypertensive disorder in pregnancy in comparison to
0.06 healthy women [17]. In our study, the mean eGFR at
BP ≥ 150/100 mmHg 6-months follow up was 110.7 ml/min/1.73m2. Only one
Time to f/u (d) 0.99 0.20 0.98–1.00
woman had an eGFR below 60 ml/min/1.73m2. Thus, a
reduced eGFR early after preeclampsia is uncommon. Our
Onset (d) 0.99 0.12 0.98–1.00
results correspond well with an analysis from Vikse et al.
HELLP 0.24 0.18 0.03–1.96 that showed a 0.1% risk of ESRD after preeclampsia after
AKI 2.7 0.17 0.65–11.23 30 years [4]. The improbability of chronic structural kidney
0.08 disease is underlined by the absence of pathologic urine
UPE > 11 mg/mmol sediment findings in our study.
Age 1.06 0.03 1.01–1.13
We arbitrarily defined kidney decline as a decrease in
kidney function by ≥10 ml/min/1.73m2, which was
GD 1.71 0.21 0.70–4.81
present in 27 women. The clinical significance of this
Early onset 0.46 0.09 0.21–1.11 decline is difficult to interpret. Since physiologic
0.02 glomerular hyperfiltration is still present at the end of
UPE ≥ 30 mg/mmol pregnancy, the reported “decline” could really be a return
GD 3.67 0.049 1.01–13.37 to baseline before pregnancy. On the other hand, it was
HELLP 0.27 0.21 0.03–2.13
only present in a minority of patients and significantly
associated with severe preeclampsia, both arguments
Early onset 0.35 0.45 0.02–5.46
against a physiological process. However, although a
Onset (d) 1.01 0.77 0.97–1.04 signifcant difference (p < 0.00) in medians in eGFR in
0.08 women with a decline in eGFR (103 ml/min/1.73m2)
eGFR decline and women without (114 ml/min/1.73m2) was present,
Severe PE 0.40 0.03 0.17–0.91 both were within normal range. Furthermore, as
UPE urinary protein excretion, BP Blood pressure in mmHg, PE Preeclampsia,
mentioned above the risk of ESRD after preeclampsia is
AKI Acute kidney injury, GD gestational diabetes f/u follow-up, d days far lower than the 13% (27/197) of women with an
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 6 of 7

eGFR delcine in our study, thus the clinical significance Ethics approval and consent to participate
remains unclear. This study was approved by the Swiss Ethic Committee of northwest and
central Switzerland as part of the swissethics association to be conducted
Our study has several strengths. To the best of our under Art. 34 HFG, ART. 37-40 HFV of Swiss Federal Law waiving the need
knowledge, this is the largest study on short term seque- for consent.
lae of preeclampsia. Furthermore, information on urine
sediments has not been reported in this setting before. Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Due to a standardized protocol for follow-up after pre-
eclampsia at our clinic, a low number of patients were
lost to follow-up. The collection of several baseline char- Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in
acteristics allowed for secondary analysis for risk factors. published maps and institutional affiliations.
There are also several limitations. Being designed as a
cohort study, there is no control group as a reference. Author details
1
Clinic for Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology, University Hospital
We did not have information on GFR during pregnan- Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. 2Department of Gynaecology
cies, since there were no routine blood tests before pre- and Obstetrics, University Hospital Basel, Spitalstrasse 21, 4031 Basel,
eclampsia symptoms occurred with mostly initiation of Switzerland.
delivery short thereafter. An analysis on possible socio- Received: 12 October 2017 Accepted: 30 April 2018
demographic differences between the patients lost to
follow-up and the patients included in our study would
have been of interest, but was not possible due to un- References
1. Abalos E, Cuesta C, Grosso AL, Chou D, Say L. Global and regional estimates
availability of sociodemographic data. There seems to be of preeclampsia and eclampsia: a systematic review. Eur J Obstet Gynecol
a selection bias with a high incidence for severe pre- Reprod Biol. 2013;170:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2013.05.005.
eclampsia (67%), most likely due to our hospital being a 2. Vikse BE, Irgens LM, Bostad L, Iversen BM. Adverse perinatal outcome and
later kidney biopsy in the mother. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2006;17:837–45.
tertiary center with referral of more complicated deliver- https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2005050492.
ies. Additionally, even though all patients with pre- 3. Wang I-K, Muo C-H, Chang Y-C, Liang C-C, Chang C-T, Lin S-Y, et al.
eclampsia in our center are supposed to be referred for Association between hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and end-
stage renal disease: a population-based study. CMAJ. 2013;185:207–13.
nephrology follow-up after 6 months, we cannot exclude https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.120230.
that some patients with mild forms of preeclampsia were 4. Vikse BE, Irgens LM, Leivestad T, Skjaerven R, Iversen BM. Preeclampsia and
not referred for follow-up leading to a higher incidence the risk of end-stage renal disease. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:800–9.
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa0706790.
of severe preeclampsia. 5. Chesley LC, Annitto JE, Cosgrove RA. American journal of obstetrics and
gynecology, volume 124, 1976: the remote prognosis of eclamptic women.
Sixth periodic report. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000;182 1 Pt 1:247. discussion
Conclusion 248. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10649186. Accessed 14 Oct 2016
Given the high frequency of sequelae 6 months after 6. Sibai BM, el-Nazer A, Gonzalez-Ruiz A. Severe preeclampsia-eclampsia in
preeclampsia, this study underlies the importance of young primigravid women: subsequent pregnancy outcome and remote
prognosis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986;155:1011–6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
close follow-up. To identify those women at risk for per- gov/pubmed/3777042. Accessed 14 Oct 2016
sistent symptoms, knowing what features of preeclamp- 7. Fisher KA, Luger A, Spargo BH, Lindheimer MD. Hypertension in pregnancy:
sia are associated with these short-term sequelae would clinical-pathological correlations and remote prognosis. Medicine
(Baltimore). 1981;60:267–76. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7242320.
be important. We identified age and gestational diabetes Accessed 14 Oct 2016
as risk factors for proteinuria and severe preeclampsia 8. Report of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working
for a decline in eGFR. However, further studies are need Group on high blood pressure in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000;
183:S1–22. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920346. Accessed 14
to define the clinical relevance of these findings. Oct 2016
9. Magee LA, Pels A, Helewa M, Rey E, von Dadelszen P. SOGC hypertension
Abbreviations guideline committee. Diagnosis, evaluation, and management of the
CKD-EPI: Chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration; eGFR: Estimated hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: executive summary. J Obstet Gynaecol
glomerular filtration rate; ESRD: End-Stage Renal Disease; HELLP: Hemolysis, Canada. 2014;36:575–6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25184972.
Elevated Liver Enzymes, Low Platelet; SD: Standard Deviation Accessed 14 Oct 2016
10. Federführende Leitlinien der deutschen Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und
Availability of data and materials Geburtshilfe; Diagnostik und Therapie hypertensiver
Data will not be shared to preserve medical confidentiality. Schwangerschaftserkrankungen. 2013.
11. Berks D, Steegers EAP, Molas M, Visser W. Resolution of hypertension and
Authors’ contributions proteinuria after preeclampsia. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114:1307–14.
MG contributed to conception and design, collected, analyzed and https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181c14e3e.
interpreted the data and wrote the manuscript. IH was involved in critically 12. Shahbazian N, Shahbazian H, Ehsanpour A, Aref A, Gharibzadeh S.
revising the manuscript and gave approval to publish the manuscript. CM Hypertension and microalbuminuria 5 years after pregnancies complicated
contributed to interpreting the data and gave approval to publish the by pre-eclampsia. Iran J Kidney Dis. 2011;5:324–7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
manuscript. MD made major contributions to conception and design of the gov/pubmed/21876309. Accessed 14 Oct 2016
study and analyzing the data. He was a major contributor in writing the 13. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Task Force on
manuscript and gave approval of the manuscript to be published. All Hypertension in Pregnancy. Hypertension in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol.
authors read and approved the final manuscript for publication. 2013;122:1122–31. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.AOG.0000437382.03963.88.
Girsberger et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (2018) 18:177 Page 7 of 7

14. Severe Pre-eclampsia/Eclampsia, Management (Guideline No. 10A). R Coll

Obstet Gynecol.
15. Fulks M, Stout RL, Dolan VF. Urine protein/creatinine ratio as a mortality risk
predictor in non-diabetics with normal renal function. J Insur Med. 2012;43:76–
83. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22876411. Accessed 11 Oct 2017
16. Suzuki H, Watanabe Y, Arima H, Kobayashi K, Ohno Y, Kanno Y. Short- and
long-term prognosis of blood pressure and kidney disease in women with a
past history of preeclampsia. Clin Exp Nephrol. 2008;12:102–9. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s10157-007-0018-1.
17. Shammas AG, Maayah JF. Hypertension and its relation to renal function 10
years after pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia and pregnancy
induced hypertension. Saudi Med J. 2000;21:190–2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pubmed/11533780. Accessed 21 Oct 2016
18. Nisell H, Lintu H, Lunell NO, Möllerström G, Pettersson E. Blood pressure and
renal function seven years after pregnancy complicated by hypertension. Br
J Obstet Gynaecol. 1995;102:876–81. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
8534622. Accessed 14 Oct 2016
19. Bar J, Kaplan B, Wittenberg C, Erman A, Boner G, Ben-Rafael Z, et al.
Microalbuminuria after pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia. Nephrol
Dial Transplant. 1999;14:1129–32. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
10344350. Accessed 14 Oct 2016
20. Chua S, Redman CW. Prognosis for pre-eclampsia complicated by 5 g or
more of proteinuria in 24 hours. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1992;43:
9–12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1737613. Accessed 21 Oct 2016