Preeclampsia and

Eclampsia
Regala Bianca Ysabelle M.
BSN II-B
RLE Group 3
 1.
Preeclampsia

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 DEFINITION

▧ A syndrome of hypertension with proteinuria or

edema or both during pregnancy or within 48 hours
of delivery.

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▧ A disease with associated altered vascular reactivity,
compromised metabolic function, significant
sodium retention, and reduced renal function
together with a decrease in intravascular volume
and increased central nervous system (CNS)
activity.

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 Pathophysiology
▧ Factors may include poorly developed uterine placental
spiral arterioles (which decrease uteroplacental blood
flow during late pregnancy), a genetic abnormality on
chromosome 13, immunologic abnormalities, and
placental ischemia and infarction. Lipid peroxidation of
cell membranes induced by free radicals may contribute
to preeclampsia.

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 Types of Preeclampsia
▧ Mild ▧ Severe

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 Symptoms of Preeclampsia
▧ Mild ▧ Severe
 Hypertension on two occasion at  Hypertension with upper
Epigastric or right blood
least 6 hours apart pressure of
quadrant 160/110 mmHg
abdominal pain or
 Systolic of 140 30 mmHg  more
Nausea and/or vomiting
 Diastolic 90 15 mmHg 
 Proteinuria
Dyspnea
 Weight gain 
 Oliguria
Stroke (rarely)
 Slightly generalized edema  Severe headache
 Proteinuria of 300mg/L in a 24 hour  Visual disturbances
specimen.
 Confusion

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 Risk Factors
History of Obesity
preeclampsia  Multiple pregnancy
Chronic Interval between
hypertension pregnancies
First pregnancy History of certain
New paternity conditions
Race In vitro fertilization

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 Complications
Fetal growth Eclampsia
restriction Other organ damage
Preterm birth Cardiovascular
Placental abruption disease
HELLP syndrome

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 Diagnostic Test
Blood Test
Creatinine Test
Urine Test

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 II.
Eclampsia

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 DEFINITION
▧ Eclampsia is a severe complication of preeclampsia.
▧ It's a rare but serious condition where high blood
pressure results in seizures during pregnancy.
▧ Seizures are periods of disturbed brain activity that can
cause episodes of staring, decreased alertness, and
convulsions (violent shaking).

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 Symptoms of Eclampsia
▧ elevated blood pressure
▧ swelling in your face or
hands
▧ headaches
▧ excessive weight gain
▧ nausea and vomiting
▧ vision problems
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▧ difficulty urinating
▧ abdominal pain,
especially in the right
upper abdomen
▧ seizures
▧ loss of consciousness
▧ agitation
 4 stages of convulsion
▧ Premonitory stage (10-20 seconds)
-Restless, rolling eyeballs, head drawn to one side,
facial twitching

▧ Tonic stage (10-20 seconds)

-Whole body become rigid, generalized muscular
spasm, eyes staring, respirations stop.

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 4 stages of convulsion
▧ Clonic stage (60-90 seconds)
-Suddenly jaws begin to open and close, including
eyelids, muscle contract, with convulsive movement
▧ Stage of come
-Loss of consciousness after the convulsive
seizures, last for few minutes, may pursue few days.

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 Risk Factors
 gestational or chronic
hypertension (high blood
pressure)  diabetes or another
 being older than 35 years condition that affects your
or younger than 20 years blood vessels
 pregnancy with twins or  kidney disease
triplets
 first-time pregnancy

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 Management
 Complete bed rest – sodium tends to be excreted at a
more rapid rate if the patient is at rest.

 Diet :
a. for mild preeclampsia- high protein, high caloric and
moderate salt restriction.
b. for severe preeclampsia – high protein , high caloric
and poor salt( = 3 gms of salt/day)

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 Foods to be avoided in a sodium-restricted diet:
▧ canned foods
▧ meat
▧ foods with regular baking soda or powder
▧ shellfish, other seafoods
▧ vegetables, pickles, relishes
▧ butter, salted bread, nuts
▧ egg whites

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 Medications
▧ Diuretics – hourly output should be at least 20-30 ml. side effects: fatigue and
muscle weakness.
▧ Digitalis – if with heart failure
▧ Barbiturates – sedation by means of CNS depressant
▧ Analgesic, antihypertensive, antibiotics, anticonvulsants, sedatives
▧ Potassium supplements – prevent Cardiac arrhythmias. Any patient receiving
diuretics is prone to hypokalemia which increases the sensitivity of the heart
to the effect of digitalis.
▧ Magnesium Sulfate is a drug of choice

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 Prevention
▧ Low Dose Aspirin
▧ Calcium Supplements

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