Salutary lessons from the Collaborative Eclampsia Trial

Magnesium sulphate now can be confidently recommended as the anticonvulsant of choice for eclampsia. The results of the Collaborative Eclampsia Trial (1) have shown that although its mode of action is not understood, magnesium sulfate has clear advantages when compared with both diazepam and phenytoin. Recurrent seizures were 2 to 3 times less frequent, and other seriou outcomes were also substantially reduced in comparison with phenytoin. These findings have clear implications for clinical practice, but other salutary lessons can be learned from the planning and execution of this study.