Traumatic brain injury in pregnancy

Abstract

Trauma is the leading cause of nonobstetric maternal mortality and affects up to 8% of all pregnancies. Pregnant patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are an especially vulnerable population, and their management is complex, with multiple special considerations that must be taken into account. These include but are not limited to alterations in maternal physiology that occur with pregnancy, potential teratogenicity of pharmacologic therapies and diagnostic studies using ionizing radiation, need for fetal monitoring, Rh immunization status, placental abruption, and preterm labor. Despite these challenges, evidence regarding management of the pregnant patient with a TBI is lacking, limited to only case reports/series and retrospective analyses. Despite this uncertainty, expert opinion on management of these patients seems to be that, overall, the standard therapies for management of TBI are safe and effective in pregnancy, with a few notable exceptions described in this chapter. Significant work is needed to continue to develop best-practice and evidence-based guidelines for the management of TBI pregnancy.

Keywords: Pregnancy; Progesterone; TBI; Trauma; Traumatic brain injury.