Preeclampsia resident survival guide

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Rinky Agnes Botleroo, M.B.B.S.

Synonyms and keywords:

Overview

This section provides a short and straight to the point overview of the disease or symptom. The first sentence of the overview must contain the name of the disease.

Causes

Common Causes

Common cause of preeclampsia include uteroplacental ischemia and genetic predisposition due to the following:

• The formation of atheromatous plaques and fibrinoid necrosis of the spiral vessel walls
• Oxidative stress in trophoblast cells
• Apoptosis in trophoblast cells
• Systemic inflammatory response
• Vasospasm
• Platelet aggregation
• Thrombin formation
• Deposition of the fibrin in multiple organs

Diagnosis

Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the diagnosis of Gestational Hypertension.

Pregnant woman with history of Hypertension

Take complete history

Record the vitals: ❑ Blood pressure ❑ Temperature ❑ Respiratory rate ❑ Heart rate

Take obstetric history : ❑ Date of last menstrual period? ❑ Estimated date of delivery ❑ Confirm the gestational age, gravidity and parity. ❑ Check if this is a single or multiple gestation.

Ask about previous obstetric history if she was previous pregnant : ❑ Ask about previous pregnancies including miscarriages and terminations. ❑ Length of gestation. ❑ Ask about mode of delivery. ❑ Ask if there was similar complaints during previous pregnancy? ❑ Was there any complications throughout the pregnancy or during delivery such as shoulder dystocia, postpartum haemorrhage ?

Ask the following questions about menstrual history : ❑ Age of menarche ❑ Last menstrual period ❑ Is the menstrual flow normal? How many pads she has to use in a day? ❑ Is there any foul smell or colour change? ❑ How many days does the menstruation stay? ❑ Contraceptive history for example oral contraceptives, intrauterine device

See if following factors are present: ❑ History of hypertension ❑ Kidney disease ❑ Diabetes ❑ Hypertension with a previous pregnancy ❑ Mother's age younger than 20 or older than 40 ❑ Multiple fetuses (twins, triplets) ❑ African-American race

Ask about associated symptoms OF preeclampsia: ❑ Severe headaches ❑ Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity ❑ Upper abdominal pain, usually under ribs on the right side ❑ Nausea or vomiting ❑ Decreased urine output ❑ Decreased levels of platelets in your blood (thrombocytopenia) ❑ Impaired liver function ❑ Shortness of breath, caused by fluid in the lungs

PRE-ECLAMPSIA ❑ Blood pressure higher than 140/90 measured on two separate occasions, more than 6 hours apart. ❑ Absence of protein in the urine and diagnosed after 20 weeks of gestation.

Treatment

Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the treatment of mild hypertension and preeclampsia.

Woman with mild hypertension and pre eclampsia

Evaluate maternal and fetal condition

❑ ≥40 weeks of gestation ❑ ≥ 37 weeks of gestation, Bishop score ≥ 6, non-complaint patient ❑ ≥34 weeks gestation, Labor or rupture of membranes, Abnormal fetal testing, Intrauterine growth restriction

Yes

Delivery

No

<37 weeks

37-39 weeks

Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the treatment of severe preeclampsia.

Woman with severe pre eclampsia

❑ Admit to labor and delivery unit. ❑ Evaluate maternal and fetal condition for 24 hours. ❑ Administer Magnesium sulphate X 24 hours. ❑ Anti-hypertensives if systolic blood pressure ≥ 160mm Hg, Diastolic ≥110 mmHg and meant retrial blood pressure ≥125 mmHg

Check if following are present: --- ❑ Maternal distress ❑ Non-reassuring fetal status. ❑ Labor or rupture of membranes. ❑ >34 weeks of gestation.

Yes

No

❑ Magnesium Sulphate ❑ Delivery.

↑

Severe intrauterine growth restriction

Yes

No

←

Steroids

↑

←

33-34 weeks of gestation

23-32 weeks of gestation

<23 weeks of gestation

❑ Steroids at 24-32 weeks ❑ Anti-hypertensives if required. ❑ Daily maternal and fetal evaluation. ❑ Delivery at 34 weeks.

termination of pregnancy

Do's

• The content in this section is in bullet points.

Don'ts

• The content in this section is in bullet points.

References

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