Modern management of eclampsia. (1/167)

Eclampsia, the occurrence of a seizure in association with pre-eclampsia, remains an important cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Despite being recognised since antiquity, consistent management practices are still lacking. Given that the aim of good care is to prevent seizures, it is disappointing that in the majority of cases the first eclamptic convulsion occurs after admission to hospital. This indicates that either the women who are likely to have a convulsion were not identified accurately, or the treatment given was ineffective. The answer to poor management of eclampsia lies in better education and training of all obstetricians, anaesthetists, midwives, and general practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Protocols for the management of fluid balance, antihypertensive and anticonvulsant therapies should be available and reviewed regularly. The universal adoption of such guidelines in all obstetric units would substantially reduce elements of substandard care which have repeatedly been identified in the triennial reports of the confidential enquiries into maternal deaths in the UK.  (+info)

Magnesium: physiology and pharmacology. (2/167)

Magnesium has an established role in obstetrics and an evolving role in other clinical areas, in particular cardiology. Many of the effects involving magnesium are still a matter of controversy. Over the next decade, it is likely that improvements in the measurement of magnesium, a clearer understanding of the mechanisms of its actions and further results of clinical studies will help to elucidate its role, both in terms of treating deficiency and as a pharmacological agent.  (+info)

Changing paternity and the risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia in the subsequent pregnancy. (3/167)

To determine whether changing paternity affects the risk of preeclampsia or eclampsia in the subsequent pregnancy and whether the effect depends on a woman's history of preeclampsia/eclampsia with her previous partner, a cohort study was conducted based on 140,147 women with two consecutive births during 1989-1991 identified through linking of annual California birth certificate data. Among women without preeclampsia/eclampsia in the first birth, changing partners resulted in a 30% increase in the risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia in the subsequent pregnancy compared with those who did not change partners (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.6). On the other hand, among women with preeclampsia/eclampsia in the first birth, changing partners resulted in a 30% reduction in the risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia in the subsequent pregnancy (95% confidence interval: 0.4, 1.2). The difference of the effect of changing paternity on the risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia between women with and those without a history of this condition was significant (p < 0.05 for the interaction term). The above estimates were adjusted for potential confounders. These findings suggest that the effect of changing paternity depends on the history of preeclampsia/eclampsia with the previous partner and support the hypothesis that parental human leukocyte antigen sharing may play a role in the etiology of preeclampsia/eclampsia.  (+info)

A paradoxical improvement of misreaching in optic ataxia: new evidence for two separate neural systems for visual localization. (4/167)

We tested a patient (A. T.) with bilateral brain damage to the parietal lobes, whose resulting 'optic ataxia' causes her to make large pointing errors when asked to locate single light emitting diodes presented in her visual field. We report here that, unlike normal individuals, A. T.'s pointing accuracy improved when she was required to wait for 5 s before responding. This counter-intuitive result is interpreted as reflecting the very brief time-scale on which visuomotor control systems in the superior parietal lobe operate. When an immediate response was required, A. T.'s damaged visuomotor system caused her to make large errors; but when a delay was required, a different, more flexible, visuospatial coding system--presumably relatively intact in her brain--came into play, resulting in much more accurate responses. The data are consistent with a dual processing theory whereby motor responses made directly to visual stimuli are guided by a dedicated system in the superior parietal and premotor cortices, while responses to remembered stimuli depend on perceptual processing and may thus crucially involve processing within the temporal neocortex.  (+info)

Management of eclampsia in the accident and emergency department. (5/167)

Eclampsia is defined as the occurrence of seizures in pregnancy or within 10 days of delivery, accompanied by at least two of the following features documented within 24 hours of the seizure: hypertension, proteinuria, thrombocytopenia or raised aspartate amino transferase. Eclampsia complicates approximately one in 2,000 pregnancies in the United Kingdom and it remains one of the main causes of maternal death. Up to 38% of cases of eclampsia can occur without premonitory signs or symptoms of pre-eclampsia-that is, hypertension, proteinuria, and oedema. Only 38% of eclamptic seizures occur antepartum; 18% occur during labour and a further 44% occur postpartum. Rare cases of eclampsia have occurred over a week after delivery. Outcome is poor for mother and child. Almost one in 50 women suffering eclamptic seizures die, 23% will require ventilation and 35% will have at least one major complication including pulmonary oedema, renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, HELLP syndrome, acute respiratory distress syndrome, stroke, or cardiac arrest. Stillbirth or neonatal death occurs in approximately one in 14 cases of eclampsia. Up to one third of eclamptic seizures occur out of hospital. For this reason, initial management may involve accident and emergency departments. Early involvement of senior obstetric staff is crucial. Optimal emergency management of seizures, hypertension, fluid balance and subsequent safe transfer is essential to minimise morbidity and mortality.  (+info)

The histology of eclamptic lesions. (6/167)

A brief description is given of the main lesion found in eclampsia. Emphasis is placed on the marked difference between the type of lesion found in the kidney and those found in other organs. It is suggested that they may be explained on the basis of increased coagulability of the blood, hypertension and possibly increased permeability of blood vessels. Hypertension may damage vessels and determine the sites of thrombus deposition. Increased permeabilithe mesangium of the glomerulus.  (+info)

Dietary calcium and pregnancy-induced hypertension: is there a relation? (7/167)

The evidence that calcium plays a role in the etiology, prevention, and treatment of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is reviewed. The precise factors involved in the pathogenesis of PIH are unclear, but several alterations in calcium metabolism have been identified. Epidemiologic data suggest an inverse correlation between dietary calcium intake and incidence of PIH. Although evidence suggests a possible beneficial effect of supplemental calcium, contradictions persist in clinical trials of pregnant women. Presently, there is insufficient evidence to support routine calcium supplementation of all pregnant women. However, high-risk groups, such as pregnant teens, populations with inadequate calcium intake, and women at risk of developing PIH, may benefit from consuming additional dietary calcium.  (+info)

Neonatal poisonings in middle Anatolia of Turkey: an analysis of 72 cases. (8/167)

In this study, 72 newborn infants who were followed with the diagnosis of poisoning in Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, between 1975 and 1997 were evaluated retrospectively. Our purpose was to emphasize the importance of newborn poisoning among general poisoning in childhood. The age of infants ranged from 10 min to 25 days (0.82 +/- 2.81 days). Forty-seven (65.2%) infants were poisoned before or during delivery. Of the 47 infants' mothers, 46 had preeclampsia or eclampsia, and 27 received only magnesium sulfate; nine magnesium sulfate + diazepam; four magnesium sulfate + nifedipine; and the others received various drug combinations. Aside from these, one mother had Addison's disease and she used long-term dexamethasone during her pregnancy. In the newborn period, five (6.9%) infants inhaled organophosphate insecticides; eight (11.1%) ingested corrosive agents (four benzalkonium chloride; three chlorhexidine gluconate + cetrimide and an infant ammonium); four (5.5%) were poisoned by overdose of digoxin; three (4.1%) ingested overdose of phenobarbital; and two (2.7%) received acepromazine maleate. In addition, each infant ingested diphenoxilate HCL + atropine sulfate, pipenzolate bromid and tizanidine HCL. Follow-up period of the infants ranged from 24 hr to 26 days (0.82 +/- 2.81 days). The mortality rate was 17% (12/72). Death was not noted in the infants who were followed with poisoning after delivery. The causes of death were as follows: sepsis in four infants, meningitis, respiratory distress syndrome and necrotizing enterocolitis in two infants each, and the effects of overdose of magnesium sulfate and diazepam in two infants, respectively. In conclusion, we would like to stress that newborn infants whose mothers received magnesium sulfate or another drug during pregnancy or delivery should be closely monitored, and calculation of drug doses should be carefully taught to hospital nurses. When baby-rooms are disinfected with organophosphate insecticides in a hospital or house, infants should be removed from the room for at least 24 hr, and use of drugs should be explained in detail to the mothers.  (+info)