| Eclampsia and seasonal variation in the tropics - a study in Nigeria. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 21532903 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
BACKGROUND: A retrospective observational study on the seasonal variation in the admission of eclampsia patients to the multi-disciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) of National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria over a five-year span (March 2000 - March 2005) was carried out. METHOD: The patient's case files and ICU records were used to extract the needed data. The diagnosis of eclampsia was based on clinical and laboratory findings by the obstetricians. RESULTS: There were a total of 5,987 deliveries during the study period. Forty-six eclamptics were admitted to the ICU during the study period giving an ICU admission rate of 7.6/1000 deliveries. The average age of the patients was 28.6 years. Six patients (13%) were booked for antenatal care in the hospital, while forty patients (87%) were referred. Average duration of stay in the ICU was 4.6 days (range 1-42 days). Thirty-one eclamptics (67.4%) were admitted to the ICU during the rainy season (April to October) and fifteen (32.6%) during the dry season (November to April). The rainy season is associated with a lower average high temperature and a higher humidity than the dry season. There is a view that holds that increasing humidity and a lower temperature is associated with increased incidence of eclampsia. There were thirteen deaths giving a case fatality rate of 28.2%. The causes of death were HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) syndrome in six patients, disseminated intravascular coagulation in two patients, and acute renal failure (ARF) in two patients. Septicemia, lobar pneumonia/heart failure and cerebrovascular accident accounted for one death each. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found an association between the rainy season and the incidence of eclampsia to our intensive care unit. This association should be further explored. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Ugochukwu Vincent Okafor; Efenae Russ Efetie; Obasi Ekumankama |
Related Documents
:
|
1947663 - The effect of race on waiting time in two urban emergency departments. 20304883 - Point of care troponin decreases time in the emergency department for patients with pos... 10487513 - Hormonal contraception and epilepsy. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article Date: 2009-08-17 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: The Pan African medical journal Volume: 2 ISSN: 1937-8688 ISO Abbreviation: Pan Afr Med J Publication Date: 2009 |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2011-05-02 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 101517926 Medline TA: Pan Afr Med J Country: Uganda |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 7 Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Anaesthesia. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Epi Info™: Now an Open-source application that continues a long and productive "life" through CDC ...
Next Document: Extrathoracic heart in northern Cameroon: a case report.