Abstract

Background: Eclampsia is still prevalent in India with high maternal and perinatal mortality. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of eclampsia cases, proportion of maternal deaths due to eclampsia, case fatality rate and causes of maternal death in eclamptic women and to determine socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the women who died due to eclampsia in our institute. Material and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted over a period of one year, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior (M.P.). All cases of maternal death due to eclampsia were included in the study. Data were extracted from patient files. Results: Total number of patients admitted with eclampsia was 261 and total number of women delivered was 9809 so proportion of  eclampsia was 2.6%. Eclampsia was the cause of maternal death in 27.27% cases with case fatality rate of12.64% . Majority of women who died due to eclampsia were in the age group 20-24 years (69.69%), were primigravidae (66.66 %), were from rural areas (60.60%) and were referred from different hospitals. Deaths were reported more commonly in women presented with antepartum eclampsia and majority of them presented at gestational age between 33- 36 weeks. Majority of women (42.42%) died 72hours after admission. The most common cause of death in eclampsia was pulmonary edema. Conclusion: Proper antenatal care, detection of preeclampsia with early management and timely referral of high - risk patients, administration of MgSO4 in correct doses and properly timed caesarean section in selected cases are the measures which can reduce the incidence of eclampsia and associated maternal mortality. Still many cases of eclampsia appear not to be preventable even among women receiving regular antenatal care, which can be due to the abrupt onset and late post partum onset.