A pregnant woman presents at 22 weeks gestation for a routine prenatal visit. Physical examination demonstrates ankle edema and new onset hypeension. Urinalysis reveals marked proteinuria. Development of which of the following would justify a diagnosis of eclampsia?
A pregnant patient is considered to be in preeclampsia if she develops hypeension, proteinuria, and edema. Eclampsia includes the addition of seizures to the triad. Approximately 7 percent of pregnant women develop preeclampsia, typically between 20 weeks gestation to 6 weeks postpaum. Predisposing conditions include pre-existing hypeension, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Laboratory features can include hyperuricemia and thrombocytopenia, but these are not used to define the presence of eclampsia. Ref: Cunningham F.G., Leveno K.J., Bloom S.L., Hauth J.C., Rouse D.J., Spong C.Y. (2010). Chapter 34. Pregnancy Hypeension. In F.G. Cunningham, K.J. Leveno, S.L. Bloom, J.C. Hauth, D.J. Rouse, C.Y. Spong (Eds), Williams Obstetrics, 23e.
Diabetes mellitus
Hyperuricemia
Seizures
Systemic lupus erythematosus