12-hour Versus 24-hour Postpartum Magnesium Sulphate for Preeclamptic Patients :A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy constitute one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality worldwide. It has been estimated that preeclampsia complicates 2-8% of pregnancies globally.

Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy associated with new-onset hypertension, which occurs most often after 20 weeks of gestation and frequently near term. Although often accompanied by new-onset proteinuria, hypertension and other signs or symptoms of preeclampsia may present in some women in the absence of proteinuria. Recently preeclampsia is divided into preeclampsia with severe features, preeclampsia without severe, features. One of serious complication of preeclampsia is occurrence of eclampsia. Eclampsia refers to the occurrence of new-onset, generalized, tonic-clonic seizures or coma in a woman with preeclampsia. Eclampsia can be prevented with magnesium sulphate, which decreases the risk of seizures by 50%, paralleled by a reduction in maternal mortality. It is considered as the gold standard of management of eclampsia Although magnesium sulphate administration is recommended for all women with severe preeclampsia, consensus has not yet to be reached on the ideal duration of prophylactic postpartum anticonvulsant therapy. The use of magnesium sulphate has been recommended for 24 hours following delivery, the period of greatest risk for the occurrence of eclampsia. There are other regimen 12-hour, 6-hour Use of magnesium sulphate therapy is not without complications, consequently longer duration therapy possesses the risk of magnesium toxicity such as respiratory depression, renal and neuromuscular dysfunction. Risks of these complications require regular supervision; hence it is particularly important to assess the minimum effective duration of treatment