Factors Influencing the Postpartum Length of Hospital Stay in Eclamptic Women

Abstract

Objective: To determine which variables are associated with postpartum length of hospital stay in eclamptic patients. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised 98 eclamptic patients who were admitted to our perina-tology unit during the period between January 1998 and May 2003. The study sample was divided into two postpartum length-of-stay groups: the short-stay group (1–3 days) consisted of 33 patients and the long-stay group (4 days and longer) consisted of 65 patients. The groups were compared with respect to the demographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory variables, and complications. Results: The mean hospitalization periods for the short-stay and long-stay groups were 2.48 ± 0.79 and 5.60 ±2.12 days, respectively (p=0.010). The mean prepartum follow-up period after the onset of eclampsia was longer in the long-stay group than in the short-stay group (12.11 ±27.63 vs. 5.08 ± 6.08 hours). The proportion of patients receiving magnesium sulfate therapy longer than 12 hours was higher in the long-stay group (p = 0.014). The long-stay group had higher diastolic arterial blood pressure than that of the short-stay group (p=0.006). The total cesarean delivery rate for the short-stay group was 48.5%, compared with 67.7% in the long-stay group (p=0.081). Conclusion: The duration of magnesium therapy, the timing, and the mode of delivery should be individualized to reduce the length of hospital stay in eclamptic patients.

Keywords

• eclampsia
• hospital stay