Preeclampsia during postpartum period

a case report

Abstract

Preeclampsia, a frequent complication of pregnancy, is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. A major advance in the classification of preeclampsia was its subdivision into early- (<34 weeks of gestation) and late-onset variants. Although they present a higher prevalence in the gestational period, the appearance of these intercurrences in the postpartum and puerperal period should not be neglected given their clinical importance. It is described a case of late preeclampsia: a 37-year-old patient, at the postpartum period, who went to emergency service after being dyspneic, torporous, peripheral cyanosis, and with pulmonary edema. The diagnosis was made not only based on the medical signs and patient-reported symptoms, but also after laboratory findings such as 24h proteinuria and blood pressure measure. Other diagnoses, as HELLP Syndrome, were excluded after normal laboratory results. Her clinical condition was made stable after being medicated with sodium nitroprusside and using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for cyanosis correction. After the preeclampsia diagnosis, at another medical center, it was added to the prescription magnesium sulfate as an eclâmpsia prophylaxis. After the seventh day of admission, without other complications, the patient was discharged from the hospital.