1Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, M. R. Medical College, Kalaburagi, Karnataka, India
2Professor and HOD, Department of Physiology, Rural Medical College, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Loni, Tal. Rahata, Dist. Ahmednager, Maharashtra, India
*Corresponding Author: E-mail: drvinod21@gmail.com
Online published on 4 February, 2016.
Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) is one of the serious complications during pregnancy causing maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Early assessment of its severity is very important to prevent further complications.
To evaluate the importance of Platelet count as a prognostic indicator for early assessment of severity of the PIH.
The present study was done on 180 pregnant women who were divided into control group and study group. Study group included 90 pregnant women with varying degree of PIH and was further divided into three groups, depending on the severity of PIH. 30 cases of gestational hypertension, 30 cases of preeclampsia and 30 cases of eclampsia. 90 healthy pregnant women with same gestational age were included in the study as the control group. Blood samples were collected and analyzed by automated hematology analyzer. The platelet counts were done and compared by appropriate statistical analysis.
The platelet counts were lower in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia as compared to control group (p<0.01).
We found a relationship between platelet count and severity of PIH. The platelet count can be considered as an early indicator in the assessment of severity of PIH.
Platelet count, Pregnancy Induced Hypertension, Preeclampsia, Eclampsia, Severity
