[Relation between fresh plasma administration and morbidity in patients with HELLP syndrome]

HELLP syndrome is a complication of severe preeclampsia; its incidence goes from 0.1 to 0.6% of pregnancies, and causes complications in 4% of patients.

To evaluate frozen fresh plasma administration to prevent pregnancy complications in patients with HELLP syndrome.

Retrospective, comparative and non-randomized study. Patients with HELLP syndrome were divided in two groups: first one (n=23) was treated with fresh frozen plasma (10 mL/kg/day), and second one (n=29) with dexamethasone. Complications, dialysis requirement, hospital stay, and mortality were compared (chi2 test was used).

Group 1 (n=23) had nine patients with HELLP syndrome type I, and 14 with type II. Group 2 (n=29) had 20 cases with HELLP syndrome type I, and nine with type II. Most frequent complication in group 1 was acute renal failure (22%), and hospital stay was 4.5 days. Group 2 had 13 patients with acute renal failure, three with pulmonary edema, one with cerebral edema, one with hepatic fracture, and one with placenta detachment. Hospital stay was from 8 to 30 days (p < 0.002). There were no maternal deaths in both groups.

Fresh frozen plasma meaningfully reduces (43%) complications, hospital stay, and hemodialysis requirement (45%) in patients with HELLP syndrome.