title: Obstetric disorders in the ICU.
abstract: Obstetric disorders account for 55% to 80% of admissions to the intensive care unit in the obstetric population. Medical conditions are emerging as the leading cause of maternal mortality, partly because of marked improvement in surgical and obstetric care in the developed world. The rise in maternal mortality related to medical conditions can be explained by multiple factors: improved medical care, women with chronic illnesses reaching childbearing years, older age at time of first pregnancy, improved reproductive technologies, and severe medical conditions exacerbated by the physiologic changes of pregnancy. This article reviews obstetric disorders leading to intensive care unit admissions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Women & Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02905, USA. gbourjeily@wihri.org
authors.forename: Ghada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bourjeily
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D018570:Risk Assessment