Preeclampsia

Pre-eclampsia affects 3-5% of pregnancies and is traditionally diagnosed by the combined presentation of high blood pressure and proteinuria. New definitions also include maternal organ dysfunction, such as renal insufficiency, liver involvement, neurological or haematological complications, uteroplacental dysfunction, or fetal growth restriction. When left untreated, pre-eclampsia can be lethal, and in low-resource settings, this disorder is one of the main causes of maternal and child mortality. In the absence of curative treatment, the management of pre-eclampsia involves stabilisation of the mother and fetus, followed by delivery at an optimal time...

BACKGROUND: Oral nifedipine is recommended along with labetalol and hydralazine for treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy by most authorities. Although nifedipine is cheap and easily administered, the usage pattern among health care providers suggests a strong preference for labetalol despite lack of evidence for the same. OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy and safety of oral nifedipine for treatment of severe hypertension of pregnancy compared with intravenous labetalol...

We asked, is uric acid as effective as proteinuria at identifying perinatal risk in high-risk women with gestational hypertension? Uric acid was measured in samples obtained ≈4.6 weeks predelivery in 259 women with prior preeclampsia from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development network study of low-dose aspirin to prevent preeclampsia. Participants were grouped according to the presence/absence of gestational hypertension (H), proteinuria (P), and hyperuricemia (U). Adverse perinatal outcomes were not different between H or U and women with normal values (normal blood pressure, urinary protein, and uric acid [NNN])...

AIM: To assess the maternal and fetal outcome in women with de novo preeclampsia (PE) in comparison to superimposed PE. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective 2-year observational study carried out at Menoufia University Hospital, Egypt, in which 164 patients out of 6472 pregnant women were diagnosed with PE (78 with de novo PE and 86 with superimposed PE). Enrolled patients were followed to assess the maternal and fetal outcome. RESULTS: There was a significant higher women with liver impairment and delivery by caesarean section in the de novo PE group (p < 0...

DESCRIPTION: Update of the 1996 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on aspirin prophylaxis in pregnancy. METHODS: The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the effectiveness of low-dose aspirin in preventing preeclampsia in women at increased risk and in decreasing adverse maternal and perinatal health outcomes, and assessed the maternal and fetal harms of low-dose aspirin during pregnancy. POPULATION: This recommendation applies to asymptomatic pregnant women who are at increased risk for preeclampsia and who have no prior adverse effects with or contraindications to low-dose aspirin...

Placenta-mediated pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, placental abruption, intrauterine growth restriction/small for gestational age and recurrent or late pregnancy loss, affect over 5% of pregnancies and can result in significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. These complications have been suggested to at least partly arise from placental insufficiency, possibly as a result of inappropriate coagulation activation. This association has led to the hypothesis that anticoagulant therapy, such as low molecular weight heparin, might reduce their occurrence...

OBJECTIVE: This executive summary presents in brief the current evidence assessed in the clinical practice guideline prepared by the Canadian Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Working Group and published by Pregnancy Hypertension (https://www.pregnancyhypertension.org/article/S2210-7789(14)00004-X/fulltext) to provide a reasonable approach to the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. EVIDENCE: Published literature was retrieved through searches of Medline, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library in March 2012 using appropriate controlled vocabulary (e...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

More women than men die each year of cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the United States. Sex-specific factors, including pregnancy-related disorders, should be considered when assessing cardiovascular (CV) risk in women. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy have been associated with CV risk later in life and may identify women in whom earlier primary prevention may reduce their risk. This article reviews the physiologic changes in blood pressure during pregnancy, current definitions of hypertensive diseases of pregnancy and preeclampsia, and postulated pathophysiologic mechanisms leading to preeclampsia that might contribute to later CV risk...

OBJECTIVE: The population-based incidence of early-onset (<34 weeks) and late-onset preeclampsia (≥34 weeks) has not been adequately studied. We examined the gestational age-specific incidence of preeclampsia onset and identified the associated risk factors and birth outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: All singleton deliveries in Washington State, 2003-2008 (n = 456,668), were included, and preeclampsia onset was determined from hospital records linked to birth certificates...

Hypertension is the most common medical disorder encountered during pregnancy, occurring in about 6-8 % of pregnancies. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder that occurs after 20 weeks' gestation, characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. Preeclampsia can also occur superimposed upon chronic hypertension. Eclampsia is the convulsive form of preeclampsia, and affects 0.1 % of all pregnancies. In low-income and middle-income countries, preeclampsia and eclampsia are associated with 10-15 % of direct maternal deaths...

Hypertension affects 10% of pregnancies, many with underlying chronic hypertension, and approximately 1-2% will undergo a hypertensive crisis at some point during their lives. Hypertensive crisis includes hypertensive urgency and emergency; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists describes a hypertensive emergency in pregnancy as persistent (lasting 15 min or more), acute-onset, severe hypertension, defined as systolic BP greater than 160 mmHg or diastolic BP >110 mmHg in the setting of pre-eclampsia or eclampsia...

OBJECTIVE: To compare pregnancy outcome and placental pathology in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction (FGR) with and without preeclampsia. METHODS: Labor, fetal/neonatal outcome, and placental pathology parameters from neonates with a birth weight below the 10 th percentile (FGR), born between 24 and 42 weeks of gestation, were reviewed. Results were compared between pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia (hypertensive FGR [H-FGR]) to those without preeclampsia (normotensive FGR [N-FGR])...

Pre-eclampsia is characterized by new-onset hypertension and proteinuria at ≥20 weeks of gestation. In the absence of proteinuria, hypertension together with evidence of systemic disease (such as thrombocytopenia or elevated levels of liver transaminases) is required for diagnosis. This multisystemic disorder targets several organs, including the kidneys, liver and brain, and is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Glomeruloendotheliosis is considered to be a characteristic lesion of pre-eclampsia, but can also occur in healthy pregnant women...

OBJECTIVE: To compare 24-hour urinary protein excretion in twin and singleton pregnancies not complicated by hypertension. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated mean 24-hour urinary protein excretion in twin and singleton pregnancies between 24 0/7 weeks and 36 0/7 weeks of gestation. Women with urinary tract infections, chronic hypertension, pregestational diabetes, and renal or autoimmune diseases were excluded. Collection adequacy was assessed by urinary creatinine excretion adjusted for maternal weight...

BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are common causes of serious morbidity and death. Calcium supplementation may reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia, and may help to prevent preterm birth. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of calcium supplementation during pregnancy on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and related maternal and child outcomes. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (28 March 2013) and contacted study authors for more data where possible...

OBJECTIVE: Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are correlated in singleton pregnancies. The objective of this study was to estimate their relationship in twin pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort of 578 patients with twin pregnancies delivered by 1 maternal fetal medicine practice from 2005-2013. Patients with chronic hypertension, monochorionic-monoamniotic placentation, twin-twin transfusion, and major congenital anomalies were excluded. Standard definitions were used for gestational hypertension and preeclampsia...

BACKGROUND: Pregnant and postpartum women with severe hypertension are at increased risk of stroke and require blood pressure (BP) reduction. Parenteral antihypertensives have been most commonly studied, but oral agents would be ideal for use in busy and resource-constrained settings. OBJECTIVES: To review systematically, the effectiveness of oral antihypertensive agents for treatment of severe pregnancy/postpartum hypertension. SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library was performed...

Preeclampsia is an important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have tested calcium supplementation and aspirin separately to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia but not the effects of combined supplementation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of aspirin combined with calcium supplementation to prevent preeclampsia in women with chronic hypertension. A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was carried out at the antenatal clinic of a large university hospital in São Paulo, SP, Brazil...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.