Clinical presentation and outcomes of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia at a tertiary hospital in Tete, Mozambique: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to understand the diff erential characteristics of pre- eclampsia in pregnant women seen at the Tete Provincial Hospital (TPH) Mozambique. A cross-sectional study, conducted between 1 March and 31 October 2016, of 834 pregnant women admitted for delivery to Tete Provincial Hospital, the only referral hospital for the population. The survey included clinical data on both the mother and the newborn. Obstetric complications occurred in 54.4% of the women. Direct complications accounted for 28.9%, of which 51.5% were due to pre-eclampsia (14.9%), and 25.5% were indirect complications, with similar proportions of malaria and HIV infection (12%). Factors independently associated with pre-eclampsia were age (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.00-1.08) and fi rst pregnancy (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.45-4.20). Malaria was associated with pre-eclampsia in primigravidae, but not multigravidae women (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.08-4.46, OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.37-2.21, respectively). Women with eclampsia were signifi cantly more likely to have premature delivery (p <0.001), lower birth weight babies (p<0.001), respiratory distress (p=0.035) and neonatal jaundice (p=0.004). Tete Provincial Hospital treats a large number of women with pre-eclampsia complicated by high rates of eclampsia, which has serious consequences for both pregnant women and newborns. These include an increase in the number of caesarean sections, premature births and low birth weight babies.