Author(s)

Kosuke Kawabata, Rina Akaishi, Ayako Nozaki, Osamu Sato, Kaoru Hanatani, Hisanori Minakami

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tomakomai City Hospital, Tomakomai, Japan.
Department of Obstetrics, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.

Background: The prevalence of asymptomatic renal scarring, such as a focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), was suggested to be high in women who develop preeclampsia. FSGS is a risk factor for endstage renal disease. Objective: To document preeclamptic women with proteinuria that developed eight weeks prior to hypertension with confirmed FSGS postpartum. Case: A 20-year-old nulliparous Japanese woman with a negative dipstick test result at gestational week (GW) 18 exhibited proteinuria 1+ on dipstick test at GW 22. Proteinuria determined from the random urine protein to creatinine ratio (P/Cr, g/g) was increased from 3.7 at GW 26 to 4.6 and 8.9 at GW 28 and 30, respectively. She developed hypertension (142/66 mmHg) at GW 30. Due to increased edema, emergency cesarean section was performed at GW 33. She gave birth to an otherwise healthy female small-for-gestational-age infant, weighing 1290 g. Postpartum course was uneventful except for persisting proteinuria: P/Cr of 9.8 just before delivery decreased to 3.6 and 1.7 on postpartum weeks 9 and 17, respectively. Renal biopsy on postpartum week 13 revealed FSGS in this patient. Conclusion: Hidden FSGS may have manifested as preeclampsia in this patient. This case highlighted the need to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic FSGS among women who later develop preeclampsia.

Proteinuria; Nephrotic Syndrome; Preeclampsia; Differential Diagnosis

Kawabata, K. , Akaishi, R. , Nozaki, A. , Sato, O. , Hanatani, K. and Minakami, H. (2013) Hidden renal disease in a female patient with long-lasting isolated gestational proteinuria followed by hypertension. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3, 680-682. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2013.39124.