Severe preterm preeclampsia: an examination of outcomes by race

Preeclampsia complicates 5% to 8% of all pregnancies. Previous studies have examined the maternal morbidity and mortality associated with preeclampsia and the expectant management of severe preterm preeclampsia. However, these studies either did not comment on outcomes by race or were primarily made up of nonblack participants.

This study aimed to determine whether maternal morbidity associated with the expectant management of severe preterm preeclampsia varied by race.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of women with a diagnosis of severe preterm preeclampsia at <34 weeks' gestation between 2008 and 2017 at our institution. Severe preterm preeclampsia was defined by current American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines. The primary outcome was a maternal morbidity composite, defined as experiencing ≥1 of the following: hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count; eclampsia; pulmonary edema; severe renal dysfunction; abruption; maternal intensive care unit admission; venous thromboembolism; blood transfusion; hysterectomy; stroke; or death. Secondary outcomes included a composite of neonatal morbidity. Outcomes were compared between self-reported black and nonblack women.

In this study, 275 women were included; among those women, 91 (33%) were nonblack, and 184 (67%) were black. In addition, 203 of 275 women (approximately 74%) underwent expectant management with no difference by race (75.8% of nonblack vs 72.8% of black women; P=.6). When examining maternal morbidity, 62 of the expectantly managed women (30.5%) developed the composite maternal morbidity outcome, with no difference by race (27.5% of nonblack vs 32.1% of black women; P=.5) even when adjusting for confounders such as maternal age, body mass index, and parity (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.35). The median time from diagnosis to delivery (latency time) was 3 days, with no difference between the 2 groups (P=.9) and no difference in neonatal morbidity (60.9% nonblack vs 53% black; P=.3).

Within our population, there were no differences in maternal outcomes between black and nonblack women who were undergoing expectant management of severe preterm preeclampsia. More research is needed to determine if the known disparities in maternal morbidity among races are due to factors beyond the antepartum management of severe preterm preeclampsia.