Treatment Outcomes and Determinants of Eclampsia and Severe Preeclampsia Among Pregnant Women Admitted to Selected Tertiary Hospitals in Ethiopia: A Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Eclampsia contributes to 12% of all maternal deaths worldwide during pregnancy. Again, women with severe preeclampsia and eclampsia had a three to 25-fold increased risk of severe complications. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine treatment outcomes and determinants of eclampsia and severe preeclampsia among pregnant women admitted to selected tertiary hospitals. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 217 women with eclampsia or severe preeclampsia from April 1 to October 30, 2019. Data were collected from patients’ chart, questionnaire-based interviews at baseline and telephone interviews during follow-up. Then, the collected data were entered into EpiData 3.1 and exported to SPSS 21.0 for final analysis. Kaplan–Meier (log rank test) and Cox regression were employed to compare baseline survival experience and to adjust for the predictors of clinical outcomes, respectively. RESULTS: Of 217 women, 80.2% of them developed maternal complications, while nine (4.2%) women died. Determinant factors of maternal complications were linked with eclampsia case (AHR: 1.98; 95%CI: 1.28–3.06; P=0.002), lack of ANC follow-up (AHR: 1.75; 95%CI: 1.22–2.51; P=0.002), presence of maternal leukocytosis (AHR: 1.53; 95%CI: 1.12–2.09; P=0.008), elevated serum creatinine (AHR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.05–2.17; P=0.02), and maternal age of 20–35 years (AHR: 0.61; 95%CI: 0.41–0.90; P=0.01). CONCLUSION: Despite improved survival of women with preeclampsia/eclampsia, different complications that they experienced remained serious problems. We suggest strategies that comprise frequent ANC follow-up and check-up for women with leukocytosis and kidney impairment so as to optimally prevent and treat eclampsia and preeclampsia during pregnancy.