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Abstract
During an 8-year period, 112 severe preeclamptic-eclamptic patients with the above
syndrome were studied. The incidence of this syndrome was significantly higher in
white patients, in patients with delayed diagnosis of preeclampsia and/or delayed
delivery, and in multiparous patients. Twenty-six patients had amniocentesis and 16
received opidural anesthetics. There was one maternal bleeding episode associated
with epidural anesthetics. The use of steroids in 17 patients did not improve maternal
platelet count. The overall perinatal mortality was 367 per 1000 and neonatal morbidity
was significant. There were two maternal deaths and two patients with ruptured liver
hematoma, and nine had acute renal failure. Thirty-eight percent had intravascular
coagulopathy and 20% had abruptio placentae. On follow-up, 44 patients used oral contraceptives
without maternal morbidity and 38 patients had 49 subsequent pregnancies. Only one
patient had recurrence of the syndrome in subsequent pregnancies. The presence of
a “true” syndrome of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP syndrome)
in preeclampsia is associated with poor maternal-perinatal outcome.
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
☆Presented at the Forty-eighth Annual Meeting of The South Atlantic Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Palm Beach, Florida, January 12–15, 1986.
Identification
Copyright
© 1986 Published by Elsevier Inc.
