Study population
This prospective cohort study involved 50 singleton pregnant women
diagnosed with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia who received seizure
prophylaxis with magnesium sulfate before delivery. The participants had
ages between 18 and 45 years old and were hospitalized at the Obstetrics
Clinics of Van Yuzuncu Yil University between April 2021 and April 2022.
Severe preeclampsia was diagnosed after 20th weeks of gestation if any
of two conditions were observed: Blood pressure (BP) equal to or higher
than 160 mm Hg for systolic BP or 110 mm Hg for diastolic BP,
proteinurea greater than 300 mg/day, creatinine greater than 1.1 mg/dL
or a two-fold increase in basal creatinine levels, a two-fold increase
in liver function tests, severe and new onset central nervous system
signs such as blurred vision and severe headaches, platelet count less
than 100,000/mL or presence of pulmonary edema. Eclamptic patients were
diagnosed if a seizure was observed in a preeclamptic woman with no
other explanation for the seizures. These diagnoses were made complying
with ACOG criteria [3]. Pregnant women with acute kidney disease
(creatinine higher than 2.5 mg/dL) or having a fetus with cardiac
defects or growth retardation were excluded from the study. The patient
characteristics (age, height, weight, comorbidities, prescriptions
including antihypertensive treatment, obstetric history), laboratory and
ultrasonographic calculations (fetal biometric measurements, fetal
umbilical and heart Doppler), maternal serum magnesium levels and
obstetric outcomes (delivery mode, APGAR scores, etc.) were recorded.