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Review
. 2024 Sep;38(3):246-256.
doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2024.11.001. Epub 2024 Nov 19.

Preeclampsia and eclampsia: Enhanced detection and treatment for morbidity reduction

Vesela P Kovacheva  1 , Shakthi Venkatachalam  2 , Claire Pfister  3 , Tooba Anwer  4
Affiliations
Review

Preeclampsia and eclampsia: Enhanced detection and treatment for morbidity reduction

Vesela P Kovacheva et al. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening complication that develops in 2-8% of pregnancies. It is characterized by elevated blood pressure after 20 weeks of gestation and may progress to multiorgan dysfunction, leading to severe maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The only definitive treatment is delivery, and efforts are focused on early risk prediction, surveillance, and severity mitigation. Anesthesiologists, as part of the interdisciplinary team, should evaluate patients early in labor in order to optimize cardiovascular, pulmonary, and coagulation status. Neuraxial techniques are safe in the absence of coagulopathy and aid avoidance of general anesthesia, which is associated with high risk in these patients. This review aims to provide anaesthesiologists with a comprehensive update on the latest strategies and evidence-based practices for managing preeclampsia, with an emphasis on perioperative care.

Keywords: Anesthesiology; Blood pressure; Eclampsia; Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:VPK reports funding from the NIH/NHLBI grants 1K08HL161326-01A1, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), and BWH IGNITE Award. The funders played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or the writing of this manuscript. VPK reports consulting fees from Avania CRO unrelated to the current work. VKP reports patent #WO2021119593A1 for the control of a therapeutic delivery system assigned to Mass General Brigham.

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