Cerebral complications incurred during pregnancy and the puerperium

Abstract

In a statistical study of maternal mortality cases in Franklin County, Ohio, with a total of 170 deaths in a ten-year period (1948-1957), there were 36 fatal cases with cerebral complications of various types. Intracranial hemorrhage was the cause of death in 17 cases; subarachnoid hemorrhage in eight; intracerebral hemorrhage in eight and subdural hemorrhage in one case. There were nine cases of intracranial tumor with fatality. In a miscellaneous group of ten "cerebral deaths" infectious processes were the cause in eight cases, including tuberculous meningitis, purulent meningitis, brain abscess, acute (cerebromedullary) poliomyelitis, "viral" encephalitis, toxoplasmosis and tetanus. In a smaller clinical (nonfatal) group with cerebral complications occurring during pregnancy and the puerperium, two patients with subarachnoid hemorrhages made spontaneous recovery. A diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage was made in three instances, in two of which operation was done and evacuation of blood clots was accomplished. One patient recovered spontaneously from a minimal hemorrhage. Five other persons had cerebral thrombosis, three in the third month of pregnancy and two in the immediate puerperium. All recovered, with some residual deficits. Three patients with intracranial tumor were successfully treated surgically but with disappointing results ultimately (one case each of cerebellar medulloblastoma, cerebral astrocytoma and supratentorial meningioma).Only when the obstetrician, neurologist and the neurosurgeon are fully aware of the signs, symptoms, and many times the rapid course of these cerebral complications of pregnancy, can there be any material lowering of the morbidity and mortality. Emphasis should be placed on the early investigation of all neurological complaints during pregnancy and the puerperium, with immediate institution of an aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic regimen.