['\u2002 To evaluate the discriminating capacity of urinary placental growth factor (uPlGF) for different hypertensive diseases of pregnancy during the third trimester.', '\u2002 A prospective descriptive case-control study conducted in an urban tertiary referral hospital and district general hospital, Sydney South West Area Health Service, Australia. Inpatients and outpatients with and without hypertension in the third trimester were recruited. Eligible patients provided a urine sample for protein, creatinine and a uPlGF level by ELISA. Patients were categorised into clinical hypertensive groups based on the diagnostic criteria of SOMANZ.', '\u2002 Eighty-eight women were evaluated; 41 had hypertension (15 pre-eclampsia; 13 gestational hypertension; eight chronic hypertension; five pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension) and 47 women without hypertension as the control group. There was a significant difference in uPlGF levels between the pre-eclamptic group (median 2.56 IQR 1.12-4.51) and the normotensive controls (median 13.18 IQR 5.95-31.39) (P\u2003<\u20030.0001); the gestational hypertensive group (median 3.74 IQR 2.49-4.91) and the normotensive group (median 13.18 IQR 5.95-31.39) (P=0.002) and for a subgroup comparison of placental-mediated hypertension (median 2.75 IQR 1.38-4.82) versus non-placental-mediated hypertensives (median 6.96 IQR 3.87-12.54) (P=0.007).'] Does urinary placental growth factor differentiate the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy?