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Severe hypertension in pregnancy: Using dynamic checklists to save lives


J Moodley
NC Ngene

Abstract

Severe hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The South African  Saving Mothers report (2011 - 2013) indicates that cerebral injury due to severe  hypertension is resulting in avoidable maternal deaths. This demands that  management of severe hypertension in pregnancy needs to be improved. A rapid-acting  antihypertensive is recommended for the initial management of severe hypertension during pregnancy. A single dose of a rapid-acting agent may be ineffective, in which case incremental doses of the same medication or another antihypertensive may be required for adequate blood pressure control. To ensure that appropriate  antihypertensives at the correct doses are administered, the use of a guideline in a dynamic checklist format is advocated and discussed in this article. It is envisaged that the use of dynamic checklists will be valuable to all  healthcare professionals providing care during pregnancy and the puerperium.

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2078-5135
print ISSN: 0256-9574