Anaesthesia | Obstetrics | Preeclampsia and Eclampsia

Preeclampsia and Eclampsia
Session Overview
Description
This session describes the pathophysiology, basic clinical and anaesthetic management of women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, emphasizing the points which are relevant to anaesthesia and analgesia.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Discuss the diagnostic criteria for pre-eclampsia/eclampsia
• Discuss the classification of the conditions
• Recognize the associated signs and symptoms
• Discuss the pathophysiology of the conditions
• Discuss the effects on mother and fetus
• Outline the treatment of the conditions

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should:

• Module 04a/Obstetrics/Pregnancy and Labour/Physiological Changes During Pregnancy
• Module 04a/Obstetrics/Pregnancy and Labour/Pharmacological Changes During Pregnancy
• Module 04a/Obstetrics/Pregnancy and Labour/Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology of Fetal Circulation
• Module 04a/Obstetrics/Pregnancy and Labour/Physiology of Labour

Pre-eclampsia is a common multi-system disorder of unknown aetiology that affects between 5-10% of all pregnancies. It remains one of the leading causes of direct maternal death and several Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) reports have highlighted deficiencies in the recognition and treatment of this condition. In the 2003 to 2005 CEMACH report [1], 18 deaths are attributed to the condition, of which eight cases were deemed to have received major sub-standard care. The condition requires a multidisciplinary approach and, as the failure to treat systolic hypertension adequately is highlighted in the CEMACH report, it is clear that anaesthetists should be involved as soon as possible.