Perinatal outcomes of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Abstract

Objectives: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are multisystem diseases, which include chronic (preexisting) hypertension, gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension. These disorders may complicate 5%–10% of all pregnancies and are leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. This study was done to assess the incidence of HDP and perinatal outcomes in comparison to normal pregnancy. The objectives of this study were to assess the incidence of HDP and its correlation with perinatal outcome. Materials and Methods: Eighty patients were enrolled for the study, Group A (cases) – 40 patients of HDP and Group B (controls) – 40 normotensive controls, these 40 normotensive controls were properly matched with Group A with respect to age and gestational age. The collected data were analyzed with IBM SPSS statistics software 23.0 Version XVII. Results: In Group A, 45% were gestational hypertensive patients, 35% were pre-eclamptic patients, 12.5% eclampsia, and 7.5% chronic hypertension. Perinatal morbidity and mortality were increased in HDP when compared with age and gestational age-matched controls. Perinatal mortality was seen in 10% in Group A. In Group B(controls) there were no perinatal mortalities. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that high parity, low gestational age, lack of antenatal care, having eclampsia, pre-delivery onset of HDP, vaginal delivery, low fetal birth weight, and maternal death were independent predictors of perinatal mortality. The majority of perinatal mortality predictors were also predictors of stillbirths. The strong association of perinatal mortality with eclampsia (a late complication of HDP in the majority) and lack of antenatal care is an indirect evidence for the delay in the utilization of obstetric services.