ON PRE-ECLAMPSIA

Pre-Eclampsia

Pre-Eclampsia

Introduction

Pre-eclampsia is a multiorgan disorder associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is defined as occurrence of hypertension in combination with protein urea developing after 20 weeks gestation in a previously normotensive non proteinuric patient. Preeclampsia is classified into mild and severe forms. Severe Pre-eclampsia is defined as blood pressure reading of = 170/110 and significant protein urea i.e. 1gm/24hr. it is also defined.

Moderate hypertension that is 140/100 and Significant Protein Urea 1gm/24hr and two sign and symptoms of imminent eclampsia like Severe headache, Liver tenderness, Epigastric Pain, Clonus, Pepiloedma, Platelet < 100x106/1, abnormal ALT or AST > 70iv/1 and Hellp Syndrome and thrombocytopenia. Incidence of Pre-eclampsia varies between 2 to 5%. The maternal component of the disease is associated with multi system organ involvement including cardiovascular, hematological, renal, and hepatic and nervous systems. On the fetal side placental insufficiently, intrauterine growth restriction, abruption and even feta death can occur.

The principle aim of management is early recognition of the disease with increased laboratory and ultrasound surveillance and timely intervention to reduce maternal and or fetal complications. The only definitive treatment is delivery. With patients presenting at 34 weeks or greater and where there is evidence of fetal lung maturity delivery is preferred after stabilization for patients presenting before 26 weeks termination of pregnancy is the treatment of choice as prenatal survival is only 3% at this stage and that too in advanced world. For patients between 26 and 34 weeks expectant management c antenatal steroids for fetal lung maturity, use of antihypertensive to control maternal hypertension and appropriate serial fetomaternal surveillance has been seen to improve outcome without increasing maternal morbidity.

Pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are disorders in pregnant women. Pre- eclampsia is hypertension and eclampsia is the worsening of pre-eclampsia where the woman experiences convulsions or goes into a coma. The complication of eclampsia in a pregnant woman can put her and her unborn child at risk. This is only to briefly define the disorders.

Furthermore, I predict that women who have suffered from eclampsia do need future medical help due to the permanent damage caused in the physiological make up of the body. I will prove this by means of statistics, nationwide studies, and explaining the damage to the body.

To give a complete definition of eclampsia we must define pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia does not have chronic hypertension but becomes hypertensive in late pregnancy. With pre-eclampsia a woman doesn't experience a coma or convulsions, her blood pressure return to normal after delivery. Although the majority of women who experience pre-eclampsia never get eclampsia-if the blood pressure gets out of hand suddenly, the disease may progress to eclampsia. Eclampsia is pre-eclampsia that has progressed to the point of convulsions and possible coma.

Resulting in retardation for the child with lack of oxygenation and other proteins to fetus.

A term that must be known is chronic hypertension due to increased pressure in the arteries and often associated with atherosclerosis (collections of fatty substances on the inside wall of the ...