Evidence supports its use

EDITOR—Gulmezoglu and Duley state that although magnesium sulphate is acknowledged as the preferred anticonvulsant for eclamptic women, there is little evidence to support or refute the use of anticonvulsants in pre-eclampsia.1However, a large placebo controlled randomised trial on the use of magnesium sulphate in severe pre-eclampsia has recently been published.2

Magnesium sulphate was found to be highly effective in severe pre-eclampsia (relative risk 0.09, 95% confidence interval 0.01 to 0.69).2The risk of seizures without magnesium sulphate was 3.2%, and the number of women with severe pre-eclampsia who needed to be treated with magnesium sulphate to prevent one case of eclampsia …