Evaluating the Serum Electrolyte Status of Preeclampsia Women Cared for in Tertiary Hospitals in Enugu Metropolis: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific multisystem disorder that typically begins at 20 weeks or later in pregnancy and occurs in 3-5% of pregnancies. This becomes necessary to evaluate the serum electrolyte status of preeclampsia women cared for in tertiary hospitals in Enugu metropolis. The study was conducted in University of Nigeria teaching hospital Enugu and Enugu State University of Science and technology teaching hospital all in Enugu metropolis. A cross sectional survey design was conducted on pregnant women from August to December 2023. Sociodemographic data was obtained from sixty pregnant women (thirty preeclampsia and thirty normotensives) within the age of 18-45 years. Five milliliters of venous blood sample was collected from the study participants for the analysis of serum level of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate). Anthropometric measurements were done using standard procedures. The statistical package, graph pad prism version 7 was used to analyze data generated from this study. There was a notable increase (p>0.05) was observed in the systolic (186.30±6.00) and diastolic(114.50±3.50) blood pressure, and potassium level(4.53±0.06) of the preeclampsia study participants in comparison to the systolic (106.2±1.90), diastolic (67.67±2.30) blood pressure, and potassium levels( 4.13±0.05) normotensives. A noteworthy decrease (p<0.05) was observed in the sodium level (129.80±0.55) of the preeclampsia women in comparison to the normotensives (133.2±0.76). No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in the serum levels of chloride and bicarbonate. This study demonstrated a notable decreased (p<0.05) inserum sodium and an increase in potassium levels in preeclampsia pregnant women in comparison to the normoten-sives. A well designed study regarding the impact of preeclamp-sia on the ion channels particularly Na+/K+ cotransporter is recommended.