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Imaging of Neurological Emergencies During Pregnancy and the Puerperium

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Emergency Imaging of Pregnant Patients

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Abstract

The physiologic changes which occur during pregnancy and the peripartum period place female patients at risk for several acute neurological conditions that can have deleterious effects on both the mother and the fetus. These obstetric emergencies may be unique to pregnancy and the puerperium, including the pre-eclampsia/eclampsia syndrome, or may be related to the effect of predisposing factors associated with pregnancy, including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral venous thrombosis, reversible vasoconstriction syndrome, and posterior reversible encephalopathy. Understanding the pathogenesis and physiopathology of these disorders is crucial for a prompt and accurate diagnosis. This chapter reviews the scope of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of the various entities responsible for acute neurological syndromes in pregnant and postpartum women, and highlights the role of the radiologist as an important consultant of the managing team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Carlos Torres, Nader Zakhari, Angela Guarnizo-Capera & Paulo Puac

  2. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Carlos Torres & Nader Zakhari

  3. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute OHRI, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Carlos Torres

  4. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Diego B. Nunez

  5. Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Francisco Rivas-Rodriguez

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  1. Carlos Torres
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  2. Nader Zakhari
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  3. Diego B. Nunez
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  4. Angela Guarnizo-Capera
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  5. Paulo Puac
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  6. Francisco Rivas-Rodriguez
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Correspondence to Carlos Torres .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hamilton General Hospital, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Michael N. Patlas

  2. Department of Radiology, NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA

    Douglas S. Katz

  3. Department of Radiology, Pineta Grande Hospital, Castel Volturno, Italy

    Mariano Scaglione

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Torres, C., Zakhari, N., Nunez, D.B., Guarnizo-Capera, A., Puac, P., Rivas-Rodriguez, F. (2020). Imaging of Neurological Emergencies During Pregnancy and the Puerperium. In: Patlas, M., Katz, D., Scaglione, M. (eds) Emergency Imaging of Pregnant Patients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42722-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42722-1_2

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