Is it safe to withold magnesium sulfate in preeclamptic women? - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
Purpose: to determine magnesium sulfate effectiveness to prevent eclamptic seizures in pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia. Methods: a case-control study involving 489 pregnant patients admitted to the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) with the diagnosis of hypertension between January 1990 and January 1997. The patients were divided into two groups: those who received magnesium sulfate (Group I) and those who did not (Group II). All patients were treated according to the hospital’s standard protocol for the treatment of hypertensive pregnant women. The following variables were assessed: maternal age, race, number of seizures, number of seizures in patients receiving magnesium sulfate, period of magnesium sulfate administration, before and after delivery, maternal mortality, need of ICU care, need of mechanical ventilation and length of hospital stay after delivery. Data were assessed with Epi-Info 6.0 statistical package, using multivariate analysis. The main outcome measure was magnesium sulfate use. Results: no differences were found between the two groups in terms of maternal age, race or gestational age. Women who received magnesium sulfate had a higher mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Women in the intervention group had a longer hospital stay and a greater need of ICU care. Need of mechanical ventilation and maternal mortality were similar in the two groups. Twenty-two out of 353 women had one or more seizures before admission to the hospital. Six women (27.3%) had one or two additional seizures after magnesium sulfate administration. No subjects had three or more seizures after receiving magnesium sulfate. Conclusion: the results show that eclamptic seizures can be prevented by routine prophylactic magnesium sulfate administration.
Search
Search in:
Search
Search in:
Purpose: to determine magnesium sulfate effectiveness to prevent eclamptic seizures in pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia. Methods: a case-control study involving 489 pregnant patients admitted to the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) with the diagnosis of hypertension between January 1990 and January 1997. The patients were divided into two groups: those who received magnesium sulfate (Group I) and those who did not (Group II). All patients were treated according to the hospital's standard protocol for the treatment of hypertensive pregnant women. The following variables were assessed: maternal age, race, number of seizures, number of seizures in patients receiving magnesium sulfate, period of magnesium sulfate administration, before and after delivery, maternal mortality, need of ICU care, need of mechanical ventilation and length of hospital stay after delivery. Data were assessed with Epi-Info 6.0 statistical package, using multivariate analysis. The main outcome measure was magnesium sulfate use. Results: no differences were found between the two groups in terms of maternal age, race or gestational age. Women who received magnesium sulfate had a higher mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Women in the intervention group had a longer hospital stay and a greater need of ICU care. Need of mechanical ventilation and maternal mortality were similar in the two groups. Twenty-two out of 353 women had one or more seizures before admission to the hospital. Six women (27.3%) had one or two additional seizures after magnesium sulfate administration. No subjects had three or more seizures after receiving magnesium sulfate. Conclusion: the results show that eclamptic seizures can be prevented by routine prophylactic magnesium sulfate administration.
Comments