Eclampsia
Eclampsia is life-threatening pregnancy complication that is characteristic by tonic-clonic seizures. The patient is usually warned by obvious symptoms, but sometimes the eclampsia appears unexpected. It requires immediate intervention of seizure suppression, high blood pressure decrease and quick delivery. Due to the seriousness, an unexpected beginning and the progress, the main protection is prevention and diagnosis of preeclampsia that is easily treatable.
Review
Preeclampsia is common pregnancy-complicating state that comes to anesthesiologist´s and obstetrician´s practice every day. Worldwide incidence is around 7,5% of all pregnancies. If not being diagnosed and treated correctly, it can develope into a critical preeclampsia or eclampsia with the risk of increased maternal and neonatal mortality. This algorithm presents basic clinical signs and guide the doctor through the particular treating steps. It points out the necessity to administer magnesium and compares it with benzodiazepine therapy during seizure and the necessity of continuing administering magnesium after delivery. Unfortunately, as is well known, in practice this continuing magnesium therapy is not often kept.
Sources
HÁJEK, Zdeněk, Evžen ČECH a Karel MARŠÁL. Porodnictví: 3., zcela přepracované a doplněné vydání. Praha: Grada, 2014. ISBN 978-80-247-4529-9.
EDMONDS, D. Keith. Dewhurst's textbook of obstetrics & gynaecology. 8th ed. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. ISBN 978-0-470-65457-6.
