Table 2.
Patient characteristics
| Pre-eclampsia (n = 26) | Eclampsia (n = 55) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age (years, interquartile range) | 21.5 (19–29) | 20 (16–22) | 0.01 |
| Mean length of admission (days, standard deviation) | 5.2 (3.3) | 5.3a (3.7) | 0.92 |
| Median self-reported term of pregnancy (months, interquartile range) | 9 (8–9) | 9 (8–9) | 0.82 |
| Nulliparity | 10 (39 %) | 32 (58 %) | 0.16 |
| Presenting signs and symptoms | |||
| In labour on admission | 14 (54 %) | 23 (42 %) | 0.44 |
| Not in labour on admission | 12 (46 %) | 25 (46 %) | 0.86 |
| Delivered on admission | 0 | 7 (13 %) | 0.09 |
| Severe hypertension or crisis | 22 (85 %) | 31 (56 %) | 0.01 |
| Proteinuria | 18 (69 %) | 37 (67 %) | 0.94 |
| Headache | 7 (27 %) | 28 (51 %) | 0.07 |
| Visual problems | 1 (3.8 %) | 8 (15 %) | 0.26 |
| Signs of clotting disorder | 1 (3.8 %) | 7 (13 %) | 0.43 |
| Jaundice | 0 | 3 (5.5 %) | 0.55 |
| Oedema | 16 (62 %) | 23 (42 %) | 0.16 |
| Hyperreflexia | 8 (31 %) | 25 (45 %) | 0.31 |
| Risk factors: | |||
| Previous pregnancy with pregnancy induced hypertension (with or without eclampsia) | 2 (7.7 %) | 4 (7.3 %) | 1.00 |
| Multiple gestation | 4 (15 %) | 5 (9.1 %) | 0.46 |
| First or new husband | 19 (73 %) | 38 (69 %) | 0.92 |
| None of the above risk factors | 3 (12 %) | 12 (22 %) | 0.36 |
| Co morbidities: | |||
| HIV | 0 | 1 (1.8 %) | 1.00 |
| Anaemia | 1 (3.8 %) | 1 (1.8 %) | 0.54 |
| Antenatal clinic visits: | |||
| Number of women with ANC records | 23 (88 %) | 52 (95 %) | 0.38 |
| Of which BP or urine was checked | 22 (96 %) | 33 (63 %) | 0.01 |
| Median number of visits of the patients who went at least once (interquartile range) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 0.42 |
| At least 4 visits to ANC | 9 (35 %) | 14 (25 %) | 0.56 |
| BP checked <14 days before admission | 10 (38 %) | 8 (15 %) | 0.03 |
| BP diastolic <90 mmHg not more than 2 weeks ago | 7 (27 %) | 5 (9 %) | 0.08 |
aOf the patients discharged alive (n = 49)