Management of early onset severe preeclampsia in a tertiary hospital in india: does expectant management alter perinatal outcome.

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aims of the study were to find out the maternal and perinatal outcome of early onset severe preeclampsia (PE) in a tertiary care center in a developing country like India and to determine whether expectant management in such a setup improves the perinatal outcome. Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective study. All women with early PE were admitted stabilized and evaluated. Expectant management was given whenever there was no indication for eminent delivery. The perinatal outcome of the expectant group was compared with that of the aggressive group, and appropriate statistical analysis was carried out. Results: A total of 106 women were admitted with severe PE, 61 were treated aggressively, and 45 were stable enough to receive expectant management. The total days gained on expectant management was 7 days. Perinatal mortality was 31.13%. Perinatal outcome of the expectant and aggressive management groups did not differ (P = 0.141); there was no increase in maternal complications on expectant management. There were 2 cases of maternal mortality in the aggressively managed group. Conclusion: Perinatal mortality in severe PE is high. There was no increase in maternal morbidity on expectant management; however, there was no difference in perinatal mortality on expectant management.