Ruptured renal artery aneurysms during pregnancy.

Rupture of renal artery aneurysms during pregnancy has been associated with an extremely high mortality rate for both mother and fetus. With this report, 18 cases have been reported in the English language literature, of which only eight mothers (44%) and four fetuses (22%) have survived. Sixteen of the 18 cases (88%) involved rupture of the left renal artery. All ruptures occurred in the third trimester except one, which occurred late in the second trimester. No relationship was noted between maternal age, parity, and rupture of the aneurysm. All patients were normotensive with no significant prior medical history.