Progression of antenatal preeclampsia in the postpartum period (clinical cases)

Abstract

Background. Preeclampsia is recognized as one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. In the majority of observations in the postpartum period, symptoms of preeclampsia appear in patients with antenatal hypertensive complications. These symptoms appear within the first 7–10 days after delivery and are accompanied by high blood pressure (BP) and neurologic symptoms, commonly presenting as headaches. According to the literature, common risk factors for the progression of preeclampsia in the postpartum period include maternal age over 35–40 years, obesity, cesarean section delivery, and non-Hispanic black race. Patients with progression of antenatal preeclampsia in the postpartum period often require readmission after discharge from the hospital.

Description of clinical cases. The first clinical observation involves a 25-year-old female patient was transferred to the cardiology department of the hospital on the fourth day after her first spontaneous labor due to a significant increase in BP combined with complaints of intense headache, nausea, and itching of the palms. Progression of antenatal preeclampsia complicated by the cholestasis was detected. The implementation of a complex treatment led to the normalization of clinical and laboratory parameters. In the second clinical observation, a 31-year-old first-pregnant patient at the gestational age of 27 weeks underwent emergency cesarean section due to the development of eclampsia. The patient developed thrombocytopenia and massive proteinuria a day after delivery for the first time, along with high BP, which was not present during pregnancy. The application of a personalized approach to treatment helped stabilize the maternity patient’s condition.

Conclusion. The presented clinical observations demonstrate the progression of antenatal preeclampsia in the postpartum period. In both cases, disturbances of laboratory parameters, high arterial hypertension, resistant to previously conducted antihypertensive therapy, were noted. Given that preeclampsia is a risk factor for severe complications, patients should not be discharged after delivery until clinical and laboratory parameters have completely normalized.

Keywords

progression of preeclampsia in the postpartum period / cholestasis / eclamptic seizure / tonic-clonic seizures / acute fetal hypoxia

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