Norwegian PUQE (Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and nausea) identifies patients with hyperemesis gravidarum and poor nutritional intake: a prospective cohort validation study.

OBJECTIVE

The English questionnaire Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and nausea (PUQE) identifies women with severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Our aim was to investigate whether scores from the translated Norwegian version; SUKK (SvangerskapsUtløst Kvalme Kvantifisering) was associated with severity of hyperemesis and nutritional intake.

METHODS

A prospective cohort validation study.

METHODS

Hospital cohort of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) patients from western Norway and healthy pregnant women from Bergen, Norway.

METHODS

38 women hospitalized due to HG and 31 healthy pregnant controls attending routine antenatal check-up at health centers.

METHODS

Data were collected May 2013-January 2014. The study participants answered the Norwegian PUQE-questionnaire (scores ranging from 3 to 15) and registered prospectively 24-hours nutritional intake by a food list form.

METHODS

Differences of PUQE-scores, QOL-score and nutritional intake between hyperemesis patients and controls.

RESULTS

Hyperemesis patients had shorter gestational age compared to controls (median 9.7 weeks; 95% CI 8.6-10.6 versus 11.9; 95% CI 10.1-12.9, p=0.004), and larger weight-change from pre-pregnant weight (loss of median 3 kg; 95% CI 3-4 versus gain of 2 kg; 95% CI 0.5-2, p<0.001) otherwise groups were similar regarding pre-pregnant BMI, age, gravidity, and inclusion weight. Compared to controls, hyperemesis patients had significant higher PUQE-score (median 13; 95% CI 11-14 vs. 7; 95% CI 4-8), lower QOL (median score 3; 95% CI 2-4 vs. 6; 95% CI 4.5-8) and lower nutritional intake (energy intake median 990 kcal/24 hours; 95% CI 709-1233 vs. 1652; 95% CI 1558-1880 all p<0.001). PUQE-score was inversely correlated to nutritional intake (-0.5, p<0.001). At discharge PUQE-score had fallen to median 6 (95% CI 5-8) and QOL score risen to 7 (95% CI 6-8) in the HG group, (both p<0.001 compared to admission values).

CONCLUSIONS

PUQE-scoring has been validated as a robust indicator of severe hyperemesis gravidarum and insufficient nutritional intake in a Norwegian setting.