Demographic Profile of Eclampsia Patients in a Tertiary Care Centre- A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: Eclampsia is a leading cause of maternal death throughout the world, with a higher mortality rate in developing countries compared to western countries Although the incidence and mortality from eclampsia has fallen dramatically over the past several decades due to better antenatal care, the associated maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality is still significant Objective: To study socio-demographic profile of eclampsia patients in a tertiary care hospital in Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir. Method: This was a prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care centre over a period of 1 year from November 2015 to December 2016 at SMGS hospital, Government Medical College, Jammu. 100 patients were recruited. Results: Majority cases (49.0%) belonged to 21-25 years age group followed by 21.0% cases in ≤ 20 years age group (Table 1). There were only 3 cases in age group > 35 years. The maximum number of patients (58%) were Hindu, 41% Muslim and 1% Sikh. 59% of patients were in antepartum eclampsia group followed by 24% in imminent eclampsia group and 17% in postpartum eclampsia group.
According to our study, there were almost equal number of patients as per gravity was considered. Mean systolic pressure in antepartum, postpartum and imminent eclampsia group was 157.46 ± 14.81 mmHg, 150.82 ± 13.25 mmHg, & 158.67 ± 17.72 mmHg respectively. Similarly mean diastolic pressure in antepartum, postpartum and imminent eclampsia group was 104.41 ± 12.06 mmHg, 97.41 ± 12.51 mmHg, & 106.92 ± 13.08 mmHg. In our study there was no difference in systolic blood pressure distributions but diastolic blood pressure difference was significant among the patients with different types of eclampsia. Maximum diastolic blood pressure (106.92 ± 13.08) was found in imminent and minimum diastolic blood pressure (97.41 ± 12.51) was found in postpartum eclampsia patients. Regarding maternal mortality there were 3 deaths in our study. Conclusion: Prompt identification of risk factors can lead to better antenatal care and therefore reduction in incidence of eclampsia.