Obstet Gynecol Sci.  2018 Jan;61(1):30-37. 10.5468/ogs.2018.61.1.30.

Evaluation of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy using the Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea scale in Korea

• Choi HJ
• Bae YJ
• Choi JS
• Ahn HK
• An HS
• Hong DS
• Yun JS
• Han JY

• KMID: 2420149
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5468/ogs.2018.61.1.30

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and poorer quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity of NVP and maternal well-being status using the Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea (PUQE) scale in a Korean population.
METHODS
A total of 527 pregnant women who were receiving prenatal care at 4 hospitals were asked to participate in the study between January 2015 and June 2015. The severity of NVP was evaluated by the PUQE scale and maternal well-being status was evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Statistical analyses were performed to determine the risk factors associated with NVP and the associations between the severity of NVP and QOL.
RESULTS
Among the 472 eligible pregnant women, 381 (80.7%) were suffering from NVP during pregnancy. No significant differences (P>0.05) were observed in any of the variables between the 2 study groups, with the exception of smoking, alcohol consumption, and history of NVP. NVP history was found to be the most powerful risk factor (adjusted odds ratio, 11.6; 95% confidence interval, 4.7-28.7). The correlation coefficient (r) between the VAS scores of maternal well-being status and PUQE severity was −0.25 (r 2=0.062; P-< 0.001).
CONCLUSION
In this study, an explicit decline in maternal well-being status was observed according to severity of NVP. The PUQE scale may be of help to clinicians, healthcare providers, and researchers because of its simplicity and usefulness as a tool for NVP evaluation.

Keyword

Nausea; Vomiting; Pregnancy; Visual analog scale

MeSH Terms

Alcohol Drinking
Female
Health Personnel
Humans
Korea*
Nausea*
Odds Ratio
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnancy*
Pregnant Women
Prenatal Care
Quality of Life
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Visual Analog Scale
Vomiting*
Smoke

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Modified Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea (PUQE) scoring system. NVP, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.

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  Fig. 2 Maternal well-being status by Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea severity.

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