Attrition from care after the critical phase of severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia Insights from an intervention with magnesium sulphate in a primary care setting in northern Nigeria.docVIP

Vol.5, No.9, 1461-1466 (2013) Health /10.4236/health.2013.59199 Attrition from care after the critical phase of severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia: Insights from an intervention with magnesium sulphate in a primary care setting in northern Nigeria Salisu Ishaku , Babatunde Ahonsi , Jamilu Tukur , Oginni Ayodeji 1* 1 2 1 1 2 Population Council, Abuja, Nigeria; Corresponding Author: sishaku@ * Department of Obstetrics Gynecology, Bayero University, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria Received 21 May 2013; revised 25 June 2013; accepted 18 July 2013 Copyright ? 2013 Salisu Ishaku et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT were 3 maternal and 3 perinatal deaths, all in the control group. No adverse outcome (maternal or fetal death) or toxic effect was recorded among the recipients of MgSo4. Conclusion: This study suggests that lower-cadre health care profes- sionals at PHCs can administer the loading dose of MgSo4 to SPE/E patients to improve maternal and fetal survival in critical states, without sig- nificant risk of adverse effects. However, the lack of compliance with referral processes remains a huge challenge. Background: Evidence has shown that Magne- sium Sulphate (MgSo4) is the gold standard for treating severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (SPE/E), and calls for its widespread use at all levels of health service delivery, including the primary care level. Objective: To determine if ad- ministering loading dose of MgSo4 on pregnant women with severe preeclampsia and eclampsia at primary care level would improve maternal and fetal outcomes. Method: Two sets of Primary Health Care (PHC)