Specialty: Obstetrics
Age group: All
Direct to an emergency department with a maternity service for:
- Pre-eclampsia with any of the following:
- uncontrolled severe hypertension (i.e., diastolic blood pressure greater than 110 mmHg or systolic blood pressure greater than 170mmHg)
- neurological complications
- renal impairment
- pulmonary oedema
- thrombocytopaenia
- If gestational age is 23 to 32 weeks or fetal weight is less than 1500 grams then the referral for emergency assessment or treatment should be to a level 6 maternity service for obstetric assessment.
Criteria for referral to level 6 public hospital maternity service
Not applicable.
Information to be included in the referral
Information that must be provided
Not applicable.
Provide if available
- Antenatal history
- Relevant test results for pre-eclampsia complications or co-occurring conditions
- Previous history of hypertension or pre-eclampsia/eclampsia or HELLP syndrome.
Additional comments
The Summary and referral information lists the information that should be included in a referral request.
As patients with pre-eclampsia should be referred to an appropriate emergency department for a maternity assessment, public hospital specialist clinics should not receive any referrals for this presenting problem.
Referral to a level 6 maternity service should be considered in the context of the local maternity service system. Referring clinicians should contact the closest level 5 maternity service to discuss options.
Referral to a level 6 public hospital maternity service is not appropriate for
Not applicable.
Reviewed 30 May 2025