Treatment Approaches for Preeclampsia in Low-Resource Settings

December 8, 2009 updated by: Gynuity Health Projects

Preeclampsia is a condition unique to pregnancy characterized by the new onset of hypertension and proteinuria. Eclampsia, characterized by maternal seizures, is a serious complication increasing the risk of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Magnesium sulfate is the drug of choice for prevention and treating convulsions in severe preeclampsia and eclampsia.

Magnesium sulfate is administered parenterally by intramuscular (IM) or intravenous routes (IV). In general a loading dose of 4 to 5 grams of magnesium sulfate is administered intravenously followed by an IM injection every 4 hours or by a continuous IV infusion. The IV regimen achieves more stable serum levels of magnesium but requires the use of an infusion pump for safe delivery and has a greater potential for inadvertent overdose. Although magnesium sulfate has been demonstrated as a safe and effective drug for the treatment and prevention of severe preeclampsia and eclampsia, concerns about the safety of the drug remain. The IM dosing regimen, while potentially safer, requires repeated painful IM injections. These limitations in administration hinder the widespread use of magnesium sulfate despite its demonstrated benefits.

The goal of this research is to develop a system of care that avoids overdose and facilitates the use of magnesium sulfate for the treatment of preeclampsia. To this end, a primary objective of this research is to demonstrate the safety of a simple, inexpensive flow controlled pump system (Springfusor®). This randomized study will compare the administration of magnesium sulfate by the Springfusor® controlled pump with an IM regimen, the standard of care in most hospitals in India. The study will document the efficacy and acceptability of each treatment for patients and staff and compare the cost and time elements involved in providing each method.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

304

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maharastra
      • Nagpur, Maharastra, India, 440015
        • Government Medical College
    • Tamil Nadu
      • Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, 632004
        • Christian Medical College

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Exhibit systolic blood pressure > 140mm Hg OR a diastolic pressure > 100 mm Hg;
  • Exhibit proteinuria > 1+;
  • Have not given birth, or be 24h or less postpartum;
  • Exhibit urine output >100 ml or more during the previous 4h or greater than 25 mL/h;
  • Agree to comply with study procedures;
  • Be > 18 years of age;
  • Give informed consent for study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Eclamptic or seizing at the time of enrollment
  • Received magnesium sulfate therapy 24h prior to study enrollment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: 2
Women in Group II (standard of care) will receive an 8 mL loading dose containing 4g magnesium sulfate administered manually per standard hospital protocol. The solution will be diluted with normal saline according to standard hospital practice, and given IV over 20 minutes. For women in Group II, the IV loading dose will be followed immediately with 20 mL treatment by IM injection, given as 10 mL (5 g magnesium sulfate) into each buttock. This dose will be followed by 10 mL treatments (5g magnesium sulfate) every four hours, injected into alternate buttock. Treatment will be discontinued when clinically indicated.
Experimental: 1
Women in Group I (Springfusor® arm) will receive a 8 mL loading dose containing 4g magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (MgSO4*7H2O) 50% solution, which is approximately 2 mmoL magnesium/mL. The loading dose of 8mL with 4 g MgSO4will be administered using the Springfusor® pump. For women in Group I, the administration of the loading dose will be immediately followed by a maintenance infusion. The maintenance dose of 4 g (8 cc, 50% MgSO4) will be administered with the Springfusor® pump continuously over four hours. The pump will be started immediately after the initial bolus and the 4g dose repeated (and syringe replaced) every four hours for upto 24 hours postpartum.
Women in Group I (Springfusor® arm) will receive loading and maintenance doses of magnesium sulfate administered via an IV infusion administered with the Springfusor pump, a simple, inexpensive flow-controlled pump system.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
completed course of treatment
Time Frame: 24 hours postpartum
24 hours postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Beverly Winikoff, MD, MPH, Gynuity Health Projeccts

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 22, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 22, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

April 24, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 9, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 8, 2009

Last Verified

December 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 4.2.1

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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