Critical care management of severe pre-eclampsia

Abstract

Severe pre-eclampsia is a common disorder in developing countries but still remains a significant problem in developed societies. The management of severe pre-eclampsia in developing countries is frequently hampered by lack of adequate facilities; paradoxically those countries with sufficient resources have a lower incidence of the disease and consequently lack experience in the treatment of severe pre-eclampsia. The management of these patients is further compromised because obstetricians generally lack the necessary knowledge and skills in critical care and conversely critical care specialists may lack appreciation and knowledge of pregnancy physiology and pathophysiology. Patients with severe pre-eclampsia therefore present an interdisciplinary challenge to obstetricians and physicians, who need to be familiar with pregnancy physiology and the current concepts in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of severe pre-eclampsia. Patients who develop multisystem disease are most appropriately managed by an experienced obstetrician in an obstetric intensive care unit with a physician in consultation.