Determining the maternal characteristics that predicts the adverse outcomes for patients with preeclampsia

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite the advances made in the field of obstretics, the ability to predict maternal and neonatal outcome in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia remains under developed. Objective: To determine the clinical characteristics that could be used as a prognostic tool that would aid in clinical assessments and interventions, which in turn will reduce the rate of mortality in pregnant women with preeclampsia. Methods: This nested case control study enrolled 40 subjects diagnosed clinically with pre-eclampsia. Using logistic regression, we determined the cilinical characteristics that could be used as a prognostic tool. Results: Maternal and gestational age were strong predictors that indicate poor prognosis in severe patients with preeclampsia at <37 weeks gestation. The scoring card models developed in this study had good calibration and discrimination value with a p > 0.05 and AUC 0.850 (95% CI 0.732 to 0.969). Subjects with total scores of 0, 1, and 2 had 3.1%, 27.6%, and 80.6% poor prognosis, respectively. Conclusion: Maternal age and gestational age are strong predictors for poor clinical outcomes in patients with preeclampsia.