Role of nurses in early diagnosis and appropriate care for women with pre-eclampsia

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a major public health problem worldwide, being responsible for high rates of maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality. The nurse, as one of the professionals who performs low-risk prenatal care, should pay attention to changes in the woman's health status that indicate the need for referrals and further follow-up. In view of the above, the present study aimed to describe the role of nurses in the care and diagnosis of preeclampsia, as well as the main characteristics of this pathology. To this end, a literature review was carried out in the narrative-exploratory format; the search for evidence occurred from January to April in the databases: Scielo, Lilacs, Medline, NIH, Cochrane and Google Scholar. 6012 articles were found, and after applying the selection criteria, 27 remained, corresponding to the review sample. These articles reported that preeclampsia is characterized by the symptomatic triad: edema, hypertension and proteinuria. The nurse is essential in the diagnosis of preeclampsia, because it is in Primary Care that this disease is identified and, therefore, one must be aware of the risk factors and symptoms of each pregnant woman, in order to be able to diagnose this disease early and prescribe nursing care. Therefore, it is clear that preeclampsia is a multifactorial disease with a broad aspect, and the nurse is an essential professional in diagnosing and assisting pregnant women with this disease.