title: Effects of postpartum uterine curettage on maternal well-being in severe preeclamptic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed the effect of postpartum uterine curettage on maternal recovery time in severe preeclamptic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six pregnant women with the diagnosis of severe preeclampsia in their third trimester were enrolled in the study. Uterine curettage was performed in the early postpartum period on 31 randomly selected patients and curettage was not performed in the remaining 25 patients. Prepartum mean arterial pressure (MAP) values, quantitative platelet counts, presence of proteinuria tested semiquantatitively, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate transferase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), and uric acid levels were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the group that underwent curettage, we observed a faster drop in the mean arterial pressures monitored at two-hour intervals, especially after the sixth postpartum hour (p < 0.05). Average urine output recorded at four-hour intervals in the postpartum period was significantly higher in the curettage group compared to the non-curettage group (p < 0.05). The difference in the platelet counts of both groups was not significant at the 12th postpartum hour, however, at 24 hours, platelet counts in the curettage group were higher. In the postpartum period at the 12th and 24th hours there was no difference between the two groups with regard to LDH, AST, and ALT values (p > 0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our study we have observed that uterine curettage performed in the postpartum period had favorable effects on blood pressure, platelet count, and urinary output and also helped in faster recovery from severe preeclampsia. We, therefore, consider that postpartum uterine curettage is useful for patients with severe preeclampsia that require faster recovery.
authors.affiliation: Zeynep Kamil Gynecologic and Pediatric Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alkan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tugrul
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oral
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uslu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Köse
authors.forename: F T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Catakli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004107:Dilatation and Curettage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D010976:Platelet Count; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood; D014556:Urine
chemical_list: D014527:Uric Acid; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase