Computed tomography of brain in eclampsia and its clinical correlation

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify intracerebral lesion in computed tomography (CT) imaging of eclampsia and correlate them with clinical manifestations. Methodology: This prospective study was carried out in the high dependency unit (HDU) of department of obstetrics and gynaecology in a tertiary care hospital for a period of one year. Total 45 women were included and were divided into two groups: a) study group: abnormal CT findings, b) control group: normal CT findings. Comparison was done using chi-square test. Results: Out of 45 numbers of cases 33.33% (15 women) had changes in brain CT scan. We observed 10 cases of cerebral oedema, 3 cases of cerebral infarction, and 2 cases of cerebral hemorrhage. The blurring of vision, multiple numbers of seizures, altered sensorium and unconsciousness showed statistically significant difference between the study and control group. The most common lobe involvement was occipital lobe (14 cases). There were five numbers of maternal mortality among 45 cases. All the 2 cases who had intracerebral haemorrhage died. Conclusion: The dominant intracerebral finding of eclamptic patient was cerebral oedema. Blurring of vision, multiple number of seizures, altered sensorium and unconsciousness were warning clinical presentations for possible brain lesions in CT scan.