[Latest developments: management and treatment of preeclampsia]

Preeclampsia is defined as the association of pregnancy-induced hypertension and proteinuria of 300 mg/24h or more after 20 weeks gestation. It complicates 0.5 to 7% of pregnancies. It is a severe complication of pregnancy, which leads to persisting fetal morbidity and mortality. It is also responsible for maternal morbidity as placental abruption, HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) and eclampsia. Without treatment, maternal risks are high. Once the disease is confirmed, the treatment consists of ending the pregnancy. Corticosteroids for lung maturity have to be prioritized depending on the term. Antihypertensive drugs are used to limit maternal complications, in particular, in neurological form. Calcium pump inhibitors are increasingly used as a first line choice. Magnesium sulfate, which is probably not used enough in France, needs to be administered with care and strict monitoring. It can be used to prevent a recurrence of eclamptic fits or in the context of early severe preeclampsia with neurological irritability where an eclamptic fit seems imminent. Preventive treatment of preeclampsia consists essentially of low dose aspirin. The efficacy of this treatment is real but moderate. It decreases the risk of recurrence of preeclampsia by 10 to 15%, of prematurity by 8% and of perinatal mortality by 14%. These figures were recently corrected to 10% for the risk of recurrence of preeclampsia: RR=0.95; 90% CI; (0.84-0.97) and prematurity: RR=0.95; 90%CI; (0.83-0.98). It seems that it has no significant effect on intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and perinatal death prevention. For the main outcome of preeclampsia, there was no evidence that women in any of subgroups as preexisting renal disease, preexisting diabetes or hypertension benefited more or less from the use of antiplatelet agents than those in any other subgroup.