Use of magnesium in pre-eclampsia is growing

Magnesium sulphate is the preferred anticonvulsant for eclampsia, while little evidence exists on the effectiveness of anticonvulsants in pre-eclampsia. On p 975 Gülmezoglu and Dooley report a survey of British and Irish obstetricians which showed that 662 of 860 used anticonvulsants prophylactically in pre-eclampsia. The use of magnesium sulphate in pre-eclampsia had risen from 2% in 1991 to 40% in 1996; in eclampsia 60% would use magnesium. Over half the respondents were willing to take part in a randomised trial of magnesium versus placebo in pre-eclampsia.


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Relevant Article

Use of anticonvulsants in eclampsia and pre-eclampsia: survey of obstetricians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
A Metin Gülmezoglu and Lelia Duley
BMJ 1998 316: 975-976. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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