BACKGROUND: Late postpartum eclampsia is more frequently recognized than past reports indicate. This report describes the association of a reversible encephalopathy in a woman with late postpartum eclampsia. CASE: A woman with lupus nephritis presented 7 days postpartum with eclampsia. Postseizure findings included dramatic short-term memory loss. Although a computed tomography scan was negative, subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) demonstrated vascular changes associated with a reversible encephalopathy. Conservative treatment with analeptic and antihypertensive therapy allowed a rapid resolution of all symptomatology. CONCLUSION: In women with eclampsia and unusual neurologic findings, an MRI/MRA may be useful even in the presence of a negative computed tomography scan.
BACKGROUND: Late postpartum eclampsia is more frequently recognized than past reports indicate. This report describes the association of a reversible encephalopathy in a woman with late postpartum eclampsia. CASE: A woman with lupus nephritis presented 7 days postpartum with eclampsia. Postseizure findings included dramatic short-term memory loss. Although a computed tomography scan was negative, subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) demonstrated vascular changes associated with a reversible encephalopathy. Conservative treatment with analeptic and antihypertensive therapy allowed a rapid resolution of all symptomatology. CONCLUSION: In women with eclampsia and unusual neurologic findings, an MRI/MRA may be useful even in the presence of a negative computed tomography scan.