Irreversible maternal brain injury during pregnancy: a case report and review of the literature.
Maternal brain death or massive injury leading to persistent vegetative state during pregnancy is a rare event. Since 1979, 11 cases, including the current one, of irreversible maternal brain damage in pregnancy have been reported. In all but one, the pregnancies were prolonged with a goal of achieving delivery of a viable infant. Current advances in medicine and critical care enable today's physician to offer prolonged life-support to maximize the chances for survival in the neonate whose mother is technically brain dead. We present a case at our institution and review all previously published cases in the English literature for comparison as well as make management recommendations.
Feldman
D M
DM
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington 06030-2950, USA. dfeldman@nso2.uchc.edu
Borgida
A F
AF
Rodis
J F
JF
Campbell
W A
WA
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001926:Brain Death; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D019727:Proxy; D014019:Tissue Donors