Función cardiaca fetal en preeclámpticas tratadas con parches de nitroglicerina

Objective

To identify modifications foetal cardiac function in pre-eclampsia patients treated with nitroglycerin patches.

Method

The sample consisted of 50 pre-eclampsia nulliparous patients with pregnancies of more than 25 weeks who attended the obstetric emergency service at Hospital Central Dr. Urquinaona, Maracaibo, Venezuela. Maternal haemodynamic changes and cardiac functions by M-mode, pulsed-wave, and tissue Doppler echocardiography were evaluated. Treatment consisted of 5 mg transdermal nitroglycerin patches, applied in the anterior thoracic and lumbar region of patients for 12 hours (total time of 48 hours). After 24 hours and 48 hours of treatment beginning, maternal haemodynamic and foetal echocardiography variables were evaluated. All parameters were evaluated in each patient.

Results

Mean age of patients was 24.4 ± 3.9 years-old, and mean gestational age at beginning of research was 33.2 ± 1.7 weeks. Treatment with nitroglycerin patches produced significant reduction in maternal blood pressure and a significant increase in maternal heart rate in both periods of evaluation (p < .0001). There were observed no changes in general foetal echocardiographic findings, echocardiographic findings in both ventricles and tissue Doppler values after 24 hours and 48 hours of treatment compared with values previous to treatment (p = ns).

Conclusion

The use of transdermal nitroglycerin patches in pre-eclampsia patients did not produce significant changes in foetal cardiac function.