A three-year audit of pregnancy outcomes in women with pulmonary hypertension admitted to the high-risk obstetric unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the profile and outcomes of pregnancies in women with pulmonary hypertension in South Africa.

Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken at a state-subsidised hospital. Data were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise categorical variables. Central tendency and dispersion of data were measured using means and standard deviations for normally distributed variables and medians and interquartile ranges for skewed variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of a cohort of 185 women, 86.3% had pulmonary hypertension secondary to left heart disease. The median age of the cohort was 28 years (interquartile range 23-33) with 37.8% being HIV infected and 59% having mild pulmonary hypertension. Frequencies of deaths, intensive care unit admissions and cardiac failure events increased with increasing severity of pulmonary hypertension (p < 0.001). Women with more severe pulmonary hypertension had higher rates of preterm births (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Adverse pregnancy outcomes were concentrated in women with moderate-to-severe pulmonary hypertension.