Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes in Women with Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia Treated with MgSO₄ at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Quetta, Pakistan: A Retrospective Observational Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32350/cpr.41.05Keywords:
eclampsia, maternal outcomes, MgSO₄, perinatal outcomes, pre-eclampsiaAbstract
Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia continue to be important causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. These conditions are often associated with delayed diagnosis and limited access to appropriate healthcare services. MgSO₄ is the recommended anticonvulsant therapy for the prevention and management of seizures in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. However, its use is not standardized in most places. To determine the maternal and perinatal outcomes among women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia managed with MgSO4 at the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. This retrospective observational study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bolan Medical Complex Hospital, Quetta, Pakistan from February 2025 to September 2025. The study included 60 women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia who had received MgSO₄ therapy. Information regarding demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, treatment, maternal complications, and neonatal outcomes was collected using a structured proforma and analyzed using SPSS (version 20.0). Among the 60 patients enrolled, 28 (46.7%) had pre-eclampsia and 32 (53.3%) had eclampsia. The majority of participants were aged 39–45 years (45.0%), had a gestational age of 37–42 weeks (48.3%), and presented with eclampsia (51.7%). Sixty-five percent (39) of participants completed the full MgSO₄ regimen, whereas 35% (21) received partial treatment. Fifty-five percent (33) of participants experienced recurrent convulsions, although two-thirds (66.7%) had no serious maternal complications. Such complications included placental abruption (20.0%), HELLP syndrome (10.0%), and pulmonary edema (3.3%). A poor 5-minute Apgar score (<7) was observed in 35 (58.3%) neonates and there were 26 (43.3%) adverse perinatal outcomes. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, there were no significant association found between maternal age, gestational age, parity, or complete MgSO₄ administration and poor Apgar scores or adverse perinatal outcomes (all p > 0.05). Although most women did not experience major maternal complications (66.7%), recurrent seizures remained frequent (55.0%) and adverse neonatal outcomes occurred in 43.3% of neonates. These findings highlight the continued burden of neonatal complications among women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia despite MgSO₄ therapy.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Safia Umar, Najma Ghaffar, Mir Abdul Qadir, Faisal Islam, Saquib Jalil, Raffia Arshad
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