Intensive care management and outcome of women with hypertensive diseases of pregnancy

INTRODUCTION: The burden of hypertensive diseases on the health care is enormous given to the high population in Sub-Saharan Africa and related disproportionate representation in global maternal mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All women with hypertensive diseases of pregnancy who got admitted into the general ICU of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital between January 2006 and December 2010 were studied. Only the records of women who completed 28 weeks of gestation and were admitted during labour and delivery or puerperium to the ICU were examined. RESULTS: There were 13061 deliveries within the 5-year study period; 9301 by vaginal delivery and 3860 through Caesarean section. 52 (51.5%) of the obstetric patients had hypertensive diseases of pregnancy. Of 52 women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, 45/52 had caesarean section and 7/52 had SVD. Admission was mainly postpartum 48/52 (92.3%). 35/52 (67.3%) were transferred to the ward and 17 died (32.7%), giving the ICU maternal mortality rate of 307/1000 deliveries. 30 women developed pulmonary oedema alone or with renal impairment; 14 women were transferred and 16 died while 21 other patients who had renal impairment alone, HELLP, sepsis, etc were transferred out. There was about a 12-fold risk of death in the unit if the patient developed pulmonary oedema when compared to the other factors combined (p = 0.0002, RR = 11.7, 95%CI = 1.7 – 82.). CONCLUSION: Primiparity, unbooked status and caesarean delivery were leading factors for ICU admission in women with preeclampsia/eclampsia. The women who developed pulmonary oedema in the course of treatment had poor outcome and avoidance of pulmonary oedema may improve ICU outcome in women with preeclampsia/eclampsia.