Low Dose Magnesium Sulphate Versus Standard Pritchard Regimen in Management of Severe Preeclampsia / Eclampsia at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Introduction: Preeclampsia/eclampsia is a pregnancy-specific multi-systemic disease associated with considerable maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Prevention and/or treatment of eclampsia with magnesium sulphate, among others, has been shown to be life-saving. However, despite efforts made in adjusting the dosage, the minimum effective dose of MgSO₄ for the prevention and treatment of eclampsia has not been determined. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of low dose magnesium sulphate with that of Pritchard regimen in prevention and treatment of eclampsia. Methods: It was a prospective, single-blinded, randomised controlled study of the low-dose (Dhaka) regimen of MgSO₄ versus the Pritchard regimen at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. Consenting patients were assigned to either arm of the study using computer-generated random numbers. Data were collated, tabulated and then statistically analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (IBM SPSS) software (version 22, Chicago, USA). Continuous variables were presented as mean and standard deviation, while categorical variables were presented as numbers and percentages. A difference with a P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant Results: The low-dose regimen of MgSO₄ was as effective as the Pritchard regimen in the prevention of eclampsia in patients with severe preeclampsia and the prevention of further convulsion in patients with eclampsia. Except for primary postpartum haemorrhage, other side effects of the drug were comparable in both groups. Low-dose MgSO₄ was as effective as the Pritchard regimen in the prevention and treatment of eclampsia. The Pritchard regimen was associated with a higher risk of PPH.