title: [Maternal complications related to the mode of delivery in pregnant women with heart disease in a specialist high risk delivery hospital in Fortaleza, CE].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the association between maternal complications and type of delivery in women with heart disease and to identify the possible clinical and obstetrical factors implicated in the determination of the route of delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective and descriptive study of the medical records of pregnant women with heart disease admitted to a tertiary reference hospital in the municipality of Fortaleza, Ceará, from 2006 to 2007. The study population included all pregnant women with an antepartum diagnosis of heart disease admitted for delivery, while women who received a diagnosis of heart disease after delivery were excluded, regardless of age and gestational week. A semi-structured questionnaire regarding sociodemographic, clinical and obstetrical variables was used. A descriptive analysis was first performed based on simple frequencies and proportions of the sociodemographic variables. Next, possible associations between clinical and obstetrical aspects and type of delivery were analyzed, with the verification of association between maternal complications and type of delivery. The Fisher exact test was applied for this analysis, with the level of significance set at p<0.05. The collected data were processed and analyzed using the Epi-InfoTM software version 6.04 (Atlanta, USA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-three pregnant women with heart disease were included in the study. Interatrial communication was the condition most frequently observed among congenital diseases (11.0%) and mitral calcification among the acquired ones (24.6%). The proportion of cesarean deliveries was higher than the proportion of vaginal deliveries, except for women with acquired heart disease. An association was detected between type of heart disease and type of delivery (p=0.01). There were 13 cases of maternal complications (17.8%). Among them, ten (76.9%) occurred during cesarean section and three during vaginal delivery. No association mas detected between maternal complications and type of delivery in pregnant women with heart disease (p=0.74).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no association between the occurrence of maternal complications and route of delivery among pregnant women with heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo Hospitalar de Epidemiologia, Hospital Geral Dr. César Cals - HGCC, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria do Socorro
authors.initials: Mdo S
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.forename: Everardo de Macêdo
authors.initials: Ede M
authors.lastname: Guanabara
authors.forename: Camila Pinto de
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Nadai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult