Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after normal vaginal delivery: A case report

Lee, Gwan Woo; Song, Jae Gyok; Kim, Seok Kon; Choe, Gyu Woon

doi:2015.10.1.42

Anesth Pain Med > Volume 10(1); 2015 > Article

Case Report

Obstetric Anesthesia

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2015;10(1):42-45.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17085/apm.2015.10.1.42 Published online January 31, 2015.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after normal vaginal delivery: A case report

Gwan Woo Lee, Jae Gyok Song, Seok Kon Kim, Gyu Woon Choe

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. drjack@nate.com

Received: 17 July 2014 • Revised: 14 August 2014 • Accepted: 22 October 2014

Abstract

Benign primary headaches are common during the postpartum period. However, there are several other kinds of headaches caused by specific underlying pathologies like post-dural puncture headache (PDPH), pregnancy induced hypertension, cortical vein thrombosis, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage, brain tumor, and so on. These headaches are rare but each can be life threatening conditions when diagnosis is delayed. If a patient was treated for another type of headache, like a PDPH, the diagnosis would be even more difficult. We report on the case of a 24 year-old woman who suffered with PDPH followed by postpartum eclampsia with PRES.

Key Words: Headache, Hypertension, Post-dural puncture headache, Posterior reversible encephalopathy, Seizure