Early Predictors of Preeclampsia: A Prospective Screening Study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy comprisea spectrum of diseases that include chronic hypertension,gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia andHELLP syndrome- are uniquely challenging as its pathologyand management simultaneously affects both the mother andbaby. Preeclampsia (PE) is an important cause of maternaland perinatal morbidity and mortality and is a most fearedcomplication of pregnancy. In India the incidence of PE isreported to be 2%-8%.Material and methods: In this study 200 pregnant womenwere enrolled from March 2018 – November 2019 for a periodof 21 months in Lalla Ded hospital department of Obstetricsand Gynaecology Government Medical College Srinagar.Inclusion criteria, first trimester of pregnancy (8 – 12 weeks),singleton gestation, pregnancies with aneuploidies ruled out.A detailed history taking and examination was done. Historyregarding their age, parity, smoking and past medical historyof hypertension was taken and their mean arterial pressure(MAP) was taken.Results: In our study out of 200 patients enrolled in firsttrimester 14 developed Pre Eclampsia (PE) in third trimester.Out of which majority were in the age group of 15-20 years(10%) and > 35 years (9%), 12.7%were nulliparous, 15.5% hada MAP of more than 89 mmHg, 11.5% of them were smokersmajority, 10% of them had past history of hypertension and30.7% of them had BMI of more than 30 kg/ m2.Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that these riskfactors can be used as a screening method for preeclampsiaprediction and its early diagnosis, thus allowing time forintervention and thereby decreasing maternal mortality andmorbidity