Clinical Characteristics and Peripheral Blood Film Findings of PreEclamptic and Normotensive Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia is an obstetric disorder that affects a tenth of pregnancies worldwide. It has a growing burden in Nigeria with a prevalence ranging from 5-10%. Normal pregnancy is associated with changes in haematological indices. This hospital-based case-control observational study was carried out to determine the clinical characteristics and peripheral blood film picture in pre-eclamptic patients at diagnosis and suitably matched controls. It involved 65 pre-eclamptic women as the test group, and 65 age, trimester and parity matched normotensive, non-proteinuric pregnant women as control group. The test group was classified clinically as having mild or severe pre-eclampsia using the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists classification. Clinical information of pregnant women was obtained from their electronic medical records with respective patient’s consent. The LB-1270 compound biological trinocular digital microscope with camera and software (5.0MP), LCD and Infinite Optical System was used to visualize peripheral blood films. The result of the study shows that the BMI of pregnant females with pre-eclampsia (25.99±2.3) and normotensive pregnant females (25.21±1.9) were within the reference interval for trimester-matched Body mass index (BMI) and there was no evidence of fetal compromise. Seventeen (13.1%) of the participants were pale at presentation, and 24.6% of pre-eclamptic subjects in the second trimester had features of microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA). In conclusion, pre-eclampsia had significant haemolytic changes and altered physiological balance characterized by marked changes in clinical features.