Lack of Association Between Race and Ethnicity and Timely Treatment of Severe Peripartum Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a leading cause of severe maternal morbidity and mortality. National guidelines recommend treatment within 30 to 60 minutes of confirmed severe hypertension to reduce the risk of maternal stroke. The objectives of this study were to quantify the number of patients who did not receive timely treatment of severe hypertension, identify barriers to timely treatment, and evaluate if race/ethnicity was associated with timeliness of treatment.

Methods: The researchers created an automated report to identify women who experienced severe hypertension during the delivery admission. The record for each case was reviewed to determine if treatment was timely (within 30 minutes). The study team compared rates of severe peripartum hypertension and rates of timely vs. not timely treatment by race/ethnicity.

Results: There were 12,069 deliveries from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021-with 684 (5.7%) women with at least one episode of severe hypertension, of whom 241 (35.2%) did not require treatment, leaving 443 (64.8%) women requiring treatment. A total of 441 women received treatment, with 417 (94.6%) treated in a timely manner. Black, Asian, and Hispanic women were all more likely to experience severe hypertension requiring treatment than white women (10.0%, 8.8%, 7.3% vs. 4.0%, respectively, p < 0.001). However, there was no difference in the in the rates of timely treatment between groups (92.6%, 93.0%, 93.9% vs. 96.3%, respectively, p = 0.59).

Conclusion: Among patients with severe hypertension, 94.6% were treated in a timely manner, and race/ethnicity was not associated with timeliness of treatment. Provider education at all levels at our institution seems to be effective for timely treatment of severe hypertension and suggests that this process could be beneficial at other institutions.