Tracheobronchial epithelial multinucleation in preeclampsia.

Smears were made from the tracheobronchial washings from 40 parturient women undergoing operative delivery while under general anesthesia administered via an endotracheal tube. There was a significantly greater incidence of epithelial multinucleation in the smears from 12 patients who had had preeclampsia for more than 24 hours than in those from 13 healthy pregnant women, from eight women with preeclampsia of less than 24 hours' duration, and from seven women with associated diseases other than preeclampsia. Although we are unable to explain this phenomenon, we have reviewed its possible causation in the face of existing theories on the cause of preeclampsia.