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Early Interventions to Prevent Preeclampsia and Reduce Maternal Mortality

Capstone
2018

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Description

The United States has the highest reported number of pregnancy related deaths among highincome countries, and eight percent of these are related to hypertensive disorders such as preeclampsia and eclampsia. Preeclampsia is defined as new onset hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks’ gestation, and the only definitive treatment to prevent the onset of seizures and serious maternal complications is delivery of the fetus. No effective screening test or preventative method has been established. Objective: To determine if prenatal calcium, pravastatin, or aspirin use is effective in preventing maternal death from preeclampsia. Methods: This research was a systematic literature review of three articles evaluating the effectiveness of three different preeclampsia prevention methods. Databases were searched for articles that most related to the research objective, and the three articles included in the research were compared and contrasted qualitatively. Results: The use of calcium supplementation and low dose aspirin were seen to significantly decrease the risk of preeclampsia and maternal mortality in their respective studies. Pravastatin therapy did not produce statistically significant data in preventing the onset of preeclampsia or other complications, however in this preliminary study it was proven to be safe in pregnancy. Conclusion: Small study bias is an overall limitation in this research, however a modest, positive outcome can be seen in the use of calcium and aspirin in preeclampsia prevention and should be further applied in medical treatment to reduce the incidence of pregnancy related deaths in the United States
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Record Data:

Program:
Physician Assistant Studies
Location:
Knoxville
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