Author(s)

Félix Essiben^1*, Ayissi Gregory², Belinga Etienne¹, Ndolo Kondo Astrid², Ngo Dingom Madye Ange³, Ebong Cliford Ebontane¹, Ojong Samuel Atomveng³, Foumane Pascal⁴

¹Yaoundé Central Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
³Central Maternity, Yaoundé Central Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
⁴Yaounde Gyneco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) frequently leads to adverse maternal and foetal outcomes in our setting. The pathophysiology is strongly linked to placental development. We aimed to study placental lesions associated with PE in a population of Cameroonian women. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical study in three university teaching hospitals in Yaounde namely, the Yaounde Central Hospital, the pathology laboratory of the Yaounde University Hospital Centre, and the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital. The study spanned 8 months from January 1^st to September 1^st, 2021. Placental analysis was carried out as per standard protocol. The study included 101 parturients with pre-eclampsia. These were divided into two groups, with groups 1 and 2 being made of patients with mild pre-eclampsia (n = 40), and severe pre-eclampsia (n = 61), respectively. Results: The mean ages of the two groups were 29.93 ± 7.36 versus 28.28 ± 7.18 (p = 0.267) for patients with mild and severe pre-eclampsia respectively. Low socioeconomic status was the most frequently identified risk factor in both groups (59%). Patients’ history revealed that the women with severe pre-eclampsia tended to have poor pregnancy follow-up compared to those with mild pre-eclampsia (p < 0.05). Also, the placentas of patients with severe pre-eclampsia weighed significantly less than those of patients with mild pre-eclampsia (454.4 ± 122 vs. 511.7 ± 125; p < 0.05). Pre-eclampsia-related lesions were significantly greater in patients with severe disease (p < 0.05). Conclusion: PE-related placental lesions in our context are multiple and diverse especially in severe disease, and these arise as a result of defective maternal vascular perfusion.

Preeclampsia, Placental Lesions, Histological Aspects, Placental Dysfunction, Cameroon

Essiben, F. , Gregory, A. , Etienne, B. , Astrid, N. , Ange, N. , Ebontane, E. , Atomveng, O. and Pascal, F. (2022) Histopathological Aspects of Placental Lesions in Mild and Severe Pre-Eclampsia in a Population of Cameroonian Women. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 12, 154-168. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2022.122016.