| Dissertation note |
Pre-eclampsia is a disorder that involves many systems of the body and occurs after 20th week of pregnancy. It is usually associated with high blood pressure (>140/90 mmHg) and proteinurea. Pre-eclampsia if untreated, can lead to eclampsia which is associated with convulsion and can prove fatal for both mother and fetus. Magnesium sulphate is considered now the drug of choice for the prophylaxis and treatment of convulsions in eclampsia. WHO has declared magnesium sulphate as most effective and low cost anticonvulsant drug for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. This study was designed to evaluate the current prescribing practices and management outcomes of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia in tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. Data collection form was used to collect data related to patient demographics, history, lab findings, prescribing indicators, drug administration record, side effects, toxicity, measures to combat toxicity and outcome. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of statistical software SPSS 17. The findings of our study clearly show that magnesium sulphate is being successfully used for management of eclampsia and to some extent for pre-eclampsia at tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. However there is lack of specific institutional guidelines on dose, timing, and indications, particularly in case of severe pre-eclampsia before 38th weeks of gestation, in which delivery was not imminent. Most of the health care professionals lack training and experience of the drug use. National as well as institutional guidelines need to be developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated for management of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. Health professionals at all levels of care need to be provided in-service training for management of the disease.
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