title: Prospective cohort study of persistent hypertension following pre-eclampsia at Medani Hospital, Sudan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the incidence of, and factors associated with, persistent hypertension in patients with pre-eclampsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort study enrolled patients presenting with pre-eclampsia at Wad Medani Maternity Hospital, Sudan, between March 1 and October 31, 2014. Obstetric, clinical, and biochemical variables were recorded at presentation and at 6weeks after delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 188 patients enrolled in the study, 6-week follow-up data were available for 165. Among these patients, 136 (82.4%) and 29 (17.6) had mild and severe pre-eclampsia, respectively. At 6-week follow-up, 58 (35.2%) patients were experiencing persistent hypertension. Patients with persistent hypertension demonstrated significantly lower platelet counts at baseline (P=0.001) and neonatal weight at delivery (P<0.001) than patients who were normotensive at 6weeks. Severe pre-eclampsia was more common among patients who experienced persistent hypertension than those who were normotensive 6weeks after delivery (P<0.001). In a logistic-regression analysis, none of the investigated factors was associated with persistent hypertension; however, patients experiencing severe pre-eclampsia were 7.3-times more likely to experience persistent hypertension than patients with mild pre-eclampsia (95% confidence interval 1.6-32.2; P=0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Persistent hypertension 6weeks after delivery was common among patients who experienced pre-eclampsia in Sudan (particularly severe pre-eclampsia) regardless of patients' age and parity.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Geziera, Medani, Sudan.
authors.forename: Zubaida M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Fadalallah
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Geziera, Medani, Sudan.
authors.forename: Elhassan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Elhassan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Duria A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rayis
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Hala
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdullahi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. Electronic address: ishagadam@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ishag
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Adam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D010298:Parity; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Persisting hypertension; Pre-eclampsia; Predictors; Sudan