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Query: UMLS:C0012739 (disseminated intravascular coagulation)
 8,673 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The syndrome of haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP Syndrome) is a consequence of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia. The clinical course is characterized by an unusual presentation with abdominal pain, and manifestations of inadequate haemostasis and excessive bleeding are common. Maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality are high. We report our experience with 33 patients over a five-year period. The mean gestational age (GA) of the pregnancies was 34 +/- 2.8 wk including 11 patients who delivered 12 neonates of less than 34 wk GA. The most common presenting complaints were right upper quadrant or epigastric pain in 25 patients (76%) and nausea or vomiting in 14 patients (42%). Diagnosis was missed or delayed in 12 patients (36%). Thirty-one patients (94%) were delivered by Caesarean section and a deteriorating maternal condition was the most common indication for operative delivery. Twenty-three patients received general anaesthesia, eight received epidural anaesthesia and there were no complications related to the anaesthetic. There was clinical evidence of abnormal haemostasis: seven patients had excessive blood loss at Caesarean section, two had postpartum haemorrhage, three developed DIC and four developed wound haematoma. The average decrease in haemoglobin concentration was 32 g.L-1 and twelve patients (36%) received blood transfusions. There was one stillbirth. There were no neonatal deaths but morbidity was prominent and related primarily to prematurity. Delayed or missed diagnosis is common in HELLP syndrome and a premature delivery by Caesarean section is usual.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Obstetrical anaesthesia for patients with the syndrome of haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets. 173 44

Spontaneous rupture of the liver associated with pregnancy is a rare and grave complication, usually occurring in preeclampsia or eclampsia. Two cases of ruptured subcapsular hematoma of the right liver during pregnancy are reported. The first case was a 19-year-old woman who had suffered from epigastralgia and absent fetal heart beat in the 32nd week of gestation. The second case was a 31-year-old female who complained of nausea and right upper quadrant pain in the 35th week of pregnancy. Both had preeclampsia, and developed shock with disseminated intravascular coagulation soon after admission. Both received surgery and were found to have ruptured hematoma over the right liver. Finally, the first patient died of renal failure, but the second survived because preoperative diagnosis had been exact. Greater suspicion, then awareness of diagnosis can lead to better timing of surgery and an improved prognosis for mother and child.
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PMID:Spontaneous rupture of the liver associated with pregnancy: a report of two cases. 798 38

The etiology and pathogenesis of the HELLP syndrome, a multisystem disease occurring only in pregnancy, are still unclear. Curiously, very few authors have investigated whether inherited factors may be involved. We report two cases of HELLP syndrome in two unrelated women whose fetuses were relatives (first cousins). The first case concerned a woman aged 32 with a normal course pregnancy who was admitted to the hospital for fever, nausea and vomiting, low platelets, hemolysis and increased liver enzymes. Abruptio placentae with fetal death and severe disseminated intravascular coagulation with hemorrhages ensued within a few hours. Hysterectomy was then performed. After treatment with transfusions and drugs the patient slowly improved; 28 days later she left the hospital in good condition. The second case involved a woman aged 31 with a normal course pregnancy who was admitted to the hospital for epigastric pain, nausea, low platelets, hemolysis and increased liver enzymes. The patient underwent an immediate cesarean section and delivered a live infant; no bleeding occurred during or after delivery. The patient's condition rapidly improved and she left the hospital after 13 days. Until now, no author has proved that inherited fetal factors are at work in the HELLP syndrome. Our observations suggest a role for genetic factors, and this needs to be investigated in prospective studies.
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PMID:Is the HELLP syndrome due to inherited factors? Report of two cases. 806 66

We report a case of preeclampsia presenting initially as a moderate hypertension, and complicated over a ten-day period by eclampsia, retinal hemorrhage, cerebral and hepatic subcapsular hematomas, HELLP syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation and renal failure. Fatal outcome was related to cerebral death and rupture of the liver hematoma. The case analysis points out inaccurate initial management: probable misdiagnosis of epigastric pain related to subcapsular hematoma, ineffective antihypertensive therapy, aspiration of the gastric content after benzodiazepine treatment of eclampsia, transfer of the patient without stabilisation of her clinical status.
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PMID:[Severe preeclampsia. Analysis of a case with fatal outcome]. 869 Aug 69

This report is on a severe case fo a HELLP-syndrome (H haemolysis, EL elevated liver enzymes, and LP low platelets). A 32-year old gravida developed severe preeclampsia with epigastric pain at 33 weeks' gestation. During a few hours post partum she showed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and required intensive care. The severe HELLP-syndrome was combined with a fast increasing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute oligo-anuric renal failure. She was treated in the intensive-care unit for several days with artificial respiration, 10 acute haemodialyses, 4 plasma exchanges with fresh-frozen plasma and many blood and platelet transfusions. An early Caesarean section and treatment in the intensive care unit managed to turn the otherwise complicated progression of the disease. It is pointed out that plasma exchange with fresh-frozen plasma is a rarely employed treatment.
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PMID:[Severe HELLP syndrome with temporary kidney and lung failure]. 897 2

HELLP syndrome in the parturient (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) is associated with poor maternal and fetal outcomes. Maternal mortality has been estimated to be as high as 24%. Patients with HELLP syndrome are also at greater risk of pulmonary edema, adult respiratory distress syndrome, abruptio placentae, disseminated intravascular coagulation, ruptured liver hematomas, and acute renal failure. Perinatal mortality is equally high, ranging from 79 to 367 per 1,000 live births, and neonatal complications correlate with the severity of maternal disease. Many clinicians view HELLP syndrome as an entity of preeclampsia, and because of varied symptomatology, the initial diagnosis may be obscured. Prodromal signs include: (1) weakness and fatigue, (2) nausea and vomiting, (3) right upper quadrant and/or epigastric pain, (4) headache, (5) changes in vision, (6) increased tendency to bleed from minor trauma, (7) jaundice, (8) diarrhea, and (9) shoulder or neck pain. Before delivery, aggressive obstetric management is directed toward stabilization of the affected organ systems, if possible, and timely interruption of the pregnancy in the early phase of the accelerated disease progression. Definitive therapy is delivery. Parturients with HELLP syndrome are often critically ill; their infants are frequently premature and their conditions are compromised. Management criteria should include a multidisciplinary approach in a tertiary care center. Obstetric anesthesia personnel should perform a thorough preanesthetic evaluation and be familiar with the pathophysiologic changes of this syndrome. Determining the anesthetic of choice depends on the patient's condition, fetal well-being, and the urgency of the situation. In the presence of severe coagulopathy, regional anesthesia is contraindicated.
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PMID:HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) pathophysiology and anesthetic considerations. 922 38

The case is described of a 32-year-old man suffering from alcoholism who came to the Emergency Unit with vomiting, fever and sharp epigastric pain irradiating to the chest and upper abdomen. A diagnosis of acute pancreatitis was made after high amylase and lipase levels were observed and the results of computed tomography scan revealed images typical of acute pancreatitis. Findings upon admission and after the initial 48 hours did not correlate with a severe or complicated course according to Ranson's criteria. On the third day after admission he suddenly developed decreased vision. A fluorescein angiogram showed arteriolar occlusion, retinal and choriocapillary ischaemia. Purtscher's retinopathy was suspected. After 4 weeks, the patient had recovered from acute pancreatitis, ophthalmoscopic examination showed normal results, and visual acuity had almost returned to normal. Activation of complement in acute pancreatitis could account for many haematologic acute disorders due to leucocyte emboli or other complement-mediated aggregates. Coagulation abnormalities may range from isolated intravascular thrombosis to severe disseminated intravascular coagulation. Purtscher's retinopathy, due to microembolizations in the choroidal and retinal arterioles, should be included among the various systemic effects of acute pancreatitis. This visual disorder is a rare systemic manifestation of acute pancreatitis which was not correlated to a severe or complicated clinical course. Treatment of these ocular complications remains to be established and outcome, therefore, depends upon resolution of the pancreatic disease.
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PMID:Acute pancreatitis with Purtscher's retinopathy: case report and review of the literature. 1114 85

A 66-year-old woman was referred a 4-month history of asthenia, weight loss, productive cough, increasing dyspnea, epigastric pain, and night sweats. A B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma was discovered in association with a severe leukocytoclastic vasculitis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The patient was treated successfully with the combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and rituximab.
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PMID:Generalized B-cell non Hodgkin's lymphoma in association with leukocytoclastic vasculitis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. 1663 29

HELLP syndrome is a multi-organ disorder unique to pregnancy. It is characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets in patients with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. In King Abdulaziz Oncology Center, Jeddah, seven patients with HELLP syndrome were admitted over a period of four years (1991-94). Retrospective analysis of data was done to study the clinical profile of HELLP syndrome. The incidence of HELLP syndrome in our institution was 1 per 2285 deliveries. One patient was Saudi and six were non-Saudis. The age range was 23 to 44 years, with a mean of 29 years. All patients were multipara. The disorder occurred between 24 to 33 weeks of gestational age, the average being 29 weeks. The most commonly encountered clinical feature was right upper quadrant/epigastric pain. Other features included nausea/vomiting, jaundice, hepatic encephalopathy, azotemia, hypotension and grand mal convulsions. All patients had severe pre-eclampsia pr eclampsia. Indirect hyperbilirubinemia was in the range of 2 to 8 mg/dL and elevated transaminases up to 229 U/L (n<40 U/L) were noted. Various degrees of peripheral thrombocytopenia (<150x10(9)/L) were present in seven patients. Four patients had elevated prothrombin and partial thromboplastin time with postive fibrinogen degradation products. Laboratory abnormalities returned to normal within 10 days following delivery. Four patients were delivered by cesarean section and three had vaginal deliveries. We had two maternal deaths (mortality 34%). One died of multi-organ failure and the other with adult respiratory distress syndrome. There was one stillbirth and the second baby died soon after birth due to prematurity (infant perinatal mortality 34%). We conclude that HELLP syndrome is rare among pregnant women in our institution. It should always be suspected in women with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia when they present with upper abdominal pain. Multipara seem to be more afflicted. Subclinical disseminated intravascular coagulation was detected in 55% of the patients. A majority of our patients presented late to the hospital.
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PMID:HELLP syndrome: Clinical profile of seven patients. 1737 23

We conducted a retrospective study of the management and outcome for eclampsia patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) of National hospital, Abuja between November 2001 and April 2005 (42 months). The patients' case files and ICU records were used to extract the necessary data. During the study period, there were a total of 4857 deliveries, with 5051 total births (including multiple births) and 4854 live births. Forty eclamptics were admitted to the ICU, giving an ICU admission rate of 8.2/1000 live births. The records of two patients were incomplete. The average age of the patients was 28.4 years (range 17-4 years). Six patients (15.8%) were booked and 32 (84.2%) were not. The average duration of stay in ICU was 5 days. Twenty patients (52.6%) had antepartum eclampsia, 12 (31.6%) had postpartum eclampsia and six (15.8%) presented with intrapartum eclampsia. Twenty-nine (76.3%) gave birth via caesarean section and nine (23.7%) delivered per vagina augmented by oxytocin infusion. Seventeen (45%) received mechanical ventilation; 20 (53%) received oxygen via nasal prongs, nasal catheters or variable performance facemask. One patient (2%) did not receive oxygen therapy. All the patients were admitted postpartum. There were 11 maternal deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 29%. There were five (45.4%) deaths due to haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count syndrome and two (18.2%) due to disseminated intravascular coagulation. The remaining deaths were due to cerebrovascular accident (9.1%), lobar pneumonia (9.1%), acute renal failure (9.1%) and multiple organ failure (9.1%). All patients were admitted postpartum. This fatality rate is higher than that detailed in the reports reviewed in this study. Early referral of eclamptics or at risk patients to a tertiary care institution may help reduce morbidity and mortality. In addition, early referral to a facility providing basic essential obstetric care or comprehensive essential obstetric care is also important. Another important factor is the correct diagnosis of pre-eclampsia during antenatal and postpartum care by screening, noting blood pressure levels, performing urinalysis for protein and asking about warning signs such as headache, blurred vision, epigastric pain, etc.
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PMID:Critical care management of eclamptics: challenges in an African setting. 1830 51


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