The causes of maternal deaths in eclampsia in Lagos, Nigeria

A retrospective study of the primary causes of maternal deaths in the eclamptics treated in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) over a 20-year period, from 1st January 1967 through 31st December 1986, was carried out. During this period, a total of 845 cases of eclampsia were treated and 91 maternal deaths were associated with eclampsia or its complications. The maternal deaths included 66 predelivery and 25 postpartum eclamptics respectively. Most of the maternal deaths (n = 86) occurred in unbooked cases of eclampsia. The maternal mortality rate was 105/1000 eclamptic deliveries. The common primary causes of deaths in eclampsia in the LUTH during the period under study were renal failure (14.5%), cerebrovascular haemorrhage (12.7%), cardio-pulmonary failure (12.7%), disordered intravascular coagulation syndrome (DIC) (10.9%), and cardiac failure (8%). The Post Mortem Rate (PMR) in the dead eclamptics in the LUTH was 60%. Scrutiny of data suggested that many of the maternal deaths could have been avoided if the patients were brought to the hospital in good time for treatment.