A case of Hypertensive Encephalopathy after cesarean section.

Song, Dong Keum; Kim, Keum Won

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006;49(1):188-193.
Published online January 1, 2006.

A case of Hypertensive Encephalopathy after cesarean section.

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon, Korea. tgjes@hanmail.net
²Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon, Korea.

Abstract

Hypertensive encephalopathy is usually defined as malignant hypertension associated with central nervous system abnormalities such as headache, seizure, hypertension, altered consciousness, increased intracranial pressure, and retinopathy. The pathogenesis of hypertensive encephalopathy is uncompletely understood, although it seems to be related to hypertensive cerebrovascular endothelial dysfunction, disruption of the blood-brain barrier with increased permeability, cerebral edema, and microhemorrhage formation. Magnetic resonance imaging shows a characteristic posterior leukoencephalopathy that predominantly affects the white matter of the parieto-occipital regions. Hypertensive encephalopathy is a rare manifestation of hypertensive emergency that requires proper diagnosis and management to avoid a irreversible brain damage. We report a patient who developed hypertensive encephalopathy after cesarean section without preeclampsia or chronic hypertension and a case presented with a brief review of the literatures.

Key Words: Hypertension, Leukoenencephalopathy, Cesarean section