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Length of stay in the ward following a preeclamptic pregnancy

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 36, pages 201–206 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

To date, data on postpartum management of preeclampsia including the optimal time for discharge are limited. The aims of this study were to investigate the appropriate time for discharge after delivery, and factors that could affect the time for discharge. Data on 210 preeclamptic women including the severity or time of onset and days in the ward after delivery were collected and analysed. In total, 167 (73%) patients were followed up for at least 16 months and none of them developed any complications after delivery. The mean days in the ward after delivery in preeclamptic women with vaginal delivery or with caesarean section was 3.4 or 5.8 days, respectively. After adjusting for delivery modes and parity, women with severe or early onset preeclampsia or preeclamptic women complicated with IUGR were in the ward longer than women with mild or late onset of preeclampsia or preeclamptic women without IUGR. In addition, women with severe preeclampsia or with IUGR delayed the time for blood pressure to return to normal range. Our descriptive data reported that preeclamptic women stayed in the ward for 4–6 days after delivery, dependent on the delivery modes. Preeclamptic women with severe or early onset form or complicated with IUGR delayed the improvement of clinical symptoms after delivery. We further found that women with severe preeclampsia, and preeclampsia complicated with IUGR delayed blood pressure returning to normal range. These pre-discharge checklists may help obstetricians and midwives decide when to discharge.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Greg Gamble, from The University of Auckland for helping statistical analysis.

Funding

This study was received the support from Shaanxi Province International collaborative program (Grant number 2016KW-006), Shaanxi province Science and Technology Development project (Grant number 2020SF-040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, First affiliated hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Chunfang Li, Wenli Gou, Dan Liu & Xuelan Li

  2. Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xian Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Jinjun Liu

  3. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Qi Chen

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  1. Chunfang Li
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Correspondence to Chunfang Li.

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Li, C., Gou, W., Liu, J. et al. Length of stay in the ward following a preeclamptic pregnancy. J Hum Hypertens 36, 201–206 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-021-00484-w

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