Assessment of magnesium sulphate usage in pre-eclamptic and eclamptic women in Omdurman Maternity Hospital, 2017: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Eclampsia, the end phenomena of the preeclampsia spectrum, appears as new onset grand mal seizures in women with preeclampsia. Recently, the World Health Organization has recommended magnesium sulphate (MgSo4) as the main drug of choice to treat/prevent eclampsia. However, in Sudan no real assessment data about MgSo4 efficacy, benefits and risks in preeclamptic and eclamptic women has been reported. Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted between January and April 2017 at Omdurman Maternity Hospital using a checklist. Data was collected from the medical records of 130 preeclamptic/eclamptic pregnant women, including: age, blood pressure, protein urea appearance, admission diagnosis, reason for using MgSo4, policy of MgSo4 administration, outcomes after using MgSo4, side effects of using MgSo4, and MgSo4 toxicity recording. After data collection, IBM SPSS (version 21) was used to analyze the data. Results: Out of 130 recruited women, 78% were diagnosed with preeclampsia and 22% were diagnosed with eclampsia. Magnesium sulphate was indicated as a prophylactic in 88 patients and as treatment in 42 patients. Interestingly, only 9 patients had uncontrolled- recurrent seizures after using magnesium sulphate and only one patient developed drug related toxicity. Conclusion: After MgSO4 administration, the majority of patients (121; 93.1%) had controlled seizures and only one patient developed MgSO4 toxicity (respiratory paralysis). Therefore,  MgSo4represents an effective and safe drug of choice used to treat/prevent eclampsia in Sudan.