Uric Acid in Pregnancy and Preeclampsia: An Alternative Hypothesis

EDITORIAL COMMENT: This hypothesis that the rise in serum uric acid in patients with preeclampsia is secondary to placental damage rather than alteration in renal function will interest readers. A major problem with the hypothesis is acceptance that raised serum uric acid levels are a feature of normal pregnancy although this was the finding in a careful study recently reported in this Journal (Carter J, Child A. Serum uric acid levels in normal pregnancy. Aust NZ J Obstet Gynaecol 1989; 29: 313–431). This hypothesis could be tested by performing uric acid clearance studies in normal pregnancy and in patients with preeclampsia and relating it to creatinine clearance.