Re: OB: Fun with preeclampsia--very long!

From: Joe Cutchin (forcep@intercom.net)
Fri Jul 27 20:13:46 2001


Garry Siegel wrote: >
> Steve:
>
> In a pleasant and collegial way, you are wrong!
>
> Garry
>
> Explanation:
>
> 1. Her platelets hovered at 90 to 100K throughout.
> 2. NST always good throughout.
> 3. Severe pre-eclampsia at term mandates delivery. The elevated BP,
> elevated creatinine of 1.1, and thrombocytopenia point to this diagnosis
> without the need for proteinuria or an elevation of uric acid. What
> more do you need? Had she been significantly pre-term, then steroids and
> careful expectant management may have been warranted.
> 4. When one hears hooves beating, think horses, not zebras!
>
> Do the listers want to vote:
>
> Diagnosis:
> 1. Severe pre-eclampsia (or PIH)
> 2. Other
>
> Garry
>
> >
> >Amazing as it may be, I sympathise with Bob here. His point is well made that you
> >have made a diagnosis on the flimsiest of evidence. I try to get it into the
> >heads of my residents that the decision to induce is a decision to deliver and you
> >don't decide to induce until you have decided that the baby is better out than
> >in. I don't think that either condition was met here. The thrombocytopenia,
> >while real, is not in itself anything more than a marker of the first part of
> >HELLP syndrome. You didn't say what the NST showed, and you didn't tell us what
> >her uric acid was. If these were normal I think I would have waited on a second
> >platelet count after 24 hours bed rest.
> >
> >Ripening with misoprostol requires patience and persistence sometimes and this
> >sort of scenario is not uncommon. That's why I think it pays to be certain about
> >your need to deliver. She bloody nearly ended up with a C/S for failed induction
> >for a very poor indication.
> >
> >Oh, and about Foley catheters. I use them for tubal chromotubation in infertility
> >and put them in the nonpregnant cervix, so, no, there is no problem getting them
> >into the pregnant cervix. Just don't try to insert a 20 gauge, stick to 16 or
> >14. And no, you don't need an epidural fo that.
> >stray
> >
> >Garry Siegel wrote:
> >
> >> >>
> >> >>Well, we've got a problem already. You're diagnosing her with "severe
> >> >>preeclampsia" when you've found that she has no proteinuria. Please explain.
> >> >>What diagnostic criteria do you use?
> >> >
> >> >Bob, severe pre-eclampsia can certainly occur in the absence of
> >> >proteinuria. Been there, done that. Variant of HELLP basically.
> >> >Having said that, I am interested to see that someone diagnosed with
> >> >"severe" preeclampsia was managed over a 3 day period. My goal is to
> >> >get those patients delivered within 24 hours of diagnosis. I
> >> >understand that this was somewhat of a "soft" call, but once the
> >> >diagnosis is on the chart....
> >> >
> >> >Was a foley bulb considered? I have found that an excellent adjunct
> >> >to cytotec, when there are too many contractions to give a 2nd dose.
> >>
> >> >
> >> Paul, you are my knight in shining armor to reply to Bob. I did not
> >> make the distinction between Pre-eclampsia and Gestational Hypertension
> >> and Pregnancy Induced hypertension, since I never can get them straight,
> >> and, most important in this case, *it didn't matter*. Bob, sorry to be
> >> argumentative and not scientific, but in this case, you gotta be
> >> practicing Ob--I think that all of us would agree that delivery was
> >> warranted.
> >>
> >> With respect to using a foley, I didn't grow up using them, and thus, it
> >> didn't hit my radar scope. I will think about it next time, but I'm not
> >> sure that this woman would have tolerated it. Can you put it in a
> >> closed cervix? Would you ever place an epidural first?
> >>
> >> Paul, I am not aware of there being an arbitrary time limit in severe
> >> pre-eclampsia. A staged ripening/induction like this isn't so common
> >> anymore, but still OK, I think. Obviously, had her pressures been bad,
> >> requiring apressoline (they didn't), her output diminshed, or her labs
> >> getting worse, then I would have been more anxious to section her. As
> >> it was, I was ready to section her just to put us all out of our misery!
> >>
> >> I bet that her SGOT will go up post partum!
> >>
> >> Garry
> >>
> >> --
> >> Garry E. Siegel, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
> >> Roswell, GA
> >> Private Practice
> >
> >--
> >
> >Dr.S.H. Raymond
> >Head of Department of O & G
> >Empangeni Hospital
> >South Africa 3880
> >Phone: (+27) 35-7721111
> >Fax: (+27) 35-7922596
> >
>
> --
> Garry E. Siegel, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
> Roswell, GA
> Private Practice

"1"

--
    Joseph H. Cutchin MD FACOG    4105463125
    314 West Carroll Street       4105463128 Fax
    Salisbury,Maryland 21801

http://www.penobgyn.com





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