Abstract

MONTERROSA CASTRO, Álvaro  and  BELLO TRUJILLO, Ana María. Incidence and clinical aspects related to eclampsia at Hospital de Maternidad "Rafael Calvo" in Cartagena, Colombia 1995-2001. Rev Colomb Obstet Ginecol [online]. 2002, vol.53, n.3, pp.279-290. ISSN 0034-7434.

The eclampsia is a pregnancy complication that generates some of the highest risks for the obstetric patient. The objective of this study was to identify the clinical and epidemiological characteristics associated with eclampsia at the Hospital de Maternidad "Rafael Calvo" in Cartagena, Colombia. This was a retrospective-descriptive study of patients with diagnosis of eclampsia between January 1, 1995 and June 31, 2001. A total of 73.947 childbirths were included in this analysis of those, 188 (0.25%) were diagnosed with eclampsia (1 case per 393 birth). Most of the patients were adolescents (58.5%), first-time mothers (64.4%), full term pregnancies (53.3%). Forty five percent did not have prenatal control. Positive correlation was found between the number of convulsions, patient's age, and gestational age. A great number of eclamptic women (86.2%) presented convulsions before childbirth and 89.4% among them gave birth in less than 12 hours after being admitted to the hospital (45.2%). Complications were present in 14.3% of the patients. HELLP syndrome (7%) and premature detachment of the placenta (3.1%) were the most frequent. The incidence of mortality was 2.2% and the eclampsia was the cause of 16% of all maternal deaths. Eclampsia may be prevented by good prenatal care, identification of the high-risk group, minimizing risk factors, and establishing active medical management to avoid the complications.

Keywords : eclampsia; maternal mortality; HELLP syndrome; hypertension in pregnancy; premature detachment of placenta usually insert.

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