Kumarra Nandha V.1 , S. V. Swamyraj2 , Kamran Maqbool Hassan3 , Syed Ali Nassar4
BACKGROUND Gestational hypertension is a disorder of blood pressure that arises because of presence of pregnancy and the visual system may be involved. We wanted to estimate the prevalence of retinopathy in Pregnancy Induced Hypertension, and find the correlation between the fundus changes with the level of hypertension. METHODS This hospital based prospective study was conducted between January 2016 to August 2017 at the SRM MCH & RC, a suburban tertiary care hospital at SRM university campus. Pupils were dilated with 0.5% tropicamide eye drops and fundus examination done with direct ophthalmoscope. All available demographic data of fundus findings of pregnancy induced hypertension patients visiting the hospital during the study period were examined and recorded. RESULTS Mean age of the population in our study was 22.61 ± 2.76 years with a range of 21 – 25 years. 67 (67%) were primigravidae and 33 (33%) were multigravidae. Fundus findings were seen in 23 (23%) cases with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. Grade I changes were seen in 13 cases (13%), Grade II changes were seen in 5 case (5%) and Grade III changes were seen in 3 cases (3%). Bilateral serous retinal detachment (grade-IV) was seen in 2 cases (2%). CONCLUSIONS Ophthalmoscopy should be done routinely in all cases of PIH to interpret the vascular changes. Though the definitive management will depend on other factors, a suggestive diagnosis by fundoscopy will guide the obstetric management of the patient.
