Preeclampsia associated seizures are important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Even though the disease is known since antiquity, treatment is still inadequate. Modification of inefficient eclampsia treatment consists in improving training of all gynecologists and obstetricians, anestesiologists, general physicians and midwives in severe preeclampsia and eclampsia diagnosis and treatment. At Maternal Perinatal National Institute we have adopted the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists diagnostic criteria expressed in clinical guidelines and procedures for obstetrical care. Treatment objectives consist in controlling arterial hypertension, to prevent seizures occurrence or repetition, to optimize intravascular volume, to maintain adequate arterial oxygenation, early diagnosis and treatment of complications, and ending pregnancy by the fastest route.

National experience on obstetrical intensive care in various Health Ministry hospitals is little and dispersed, mainly due to low patients volume with this type of pathology. The seriously sick pregnant patient constitutes a challenge for the intensivist physician due to the special maternal status in regards to physiological requeriments and laboratory levels, to critical pregnancy own or coincident pregnancy diseases and to the presence of a fetus with physiological peculiarities and diverse risks, such as the pharmacologic one. In our experience, from 1997 through 2006, main admission indications to the Maternal Perinatal National Institute Intensive Care Unit have been hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (47,5%), sepsis – septic shock, severe hemorrage – hemorragic shock, among others, and these are the main maternal death causes.

National experience on obstetrical intensive care in various Health Ministry hospitals is little and dispersed, mainly due to low patients volume with this type of pathology. The seriously sick pregnant patient constitutes a challenge for the intensivist physician due to the special maternal status in regards to physiological requeriments and laboratory levels, to critical pregnancy own or coincident pregnancy diseases and to the presence of a fetus with physiological peculiarities and diverse risks, such as the pharmacologic one. In our experience, from 1997 through 2006, main admission indications to the Maternal Perinatal National Institute Intensive Care Unit have been hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (47,5%), sepsis – septic shock, severe hemorrage – hemorragic shock, among others, and these are the main maternal death causes.

Preeclampsia associated seizures are important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Even though the disease is known since antiquity, treatment is still inadequate. Modification of inefficient eclampsia treatment consists in improving training of all gynecologists and obstetricians, anestesiologists, general physicians and midwives in severe preeclampsia and eclampsia diagnosis and treatment. At Maternal Perinatal National Institute we have adopted the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists diagnostic criteria expressed in clinical guidelines and procedures for obstetrical care. Treatment objectives consist in controlling arterial hypertension, to prevent seizures occurrence or repetition, to optimize intravascular volume, to maintain adequate arterial oxygenation, early diagnosis and treatment of complications, and ending pregnancy by the fastest route.