Emergent Neuroimaging During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Guangzu Gao; Rebecca L Zucconi; William B Zucconi

doi:10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.005

Emergent Neuroimaging During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2018 Aug;28(3):419-433. doi: 10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.005.

Authors

Guangzu Gao¹, Rebecca L Zucconi², William B Zucconi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale Diagnostic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 20 York Street, PO Box 208042, New Haven, CT 06520-8042, USA.
² Department of Medical Sciences, Frank H Netter MD School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518-1905, USA.
³ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale Diagnostic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, 20 York Street, PO Box 208042, New Haven, CT 06520-8042, USA. Electronic address: william.zucconi@yale.edu.

PMID: 30007753
DOI: 10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.005

Abstract

Acute neurologic emergencies in pregnancy often require neuroimaging to guide diagnosis and treatment. Implementation of a patient-centered care model in radiology can alleviate a patient's stress, reinforce appropriate imaging workup, improve patient satisfaction, and lead to improved outcomes. The authors present the evaluation, differential diagnosis, and recommended imaging protocols for the three most common acute neurologic symptoms in pregnancy and the postpartum period: headache, seizure, and focal neurologic deficits. With the patient's symptoms as a reference point, the referring physician in consultation with the radiologist can effectively implement the optimal imaging procedures.

Keywords: Emergency neuroradiology; Patient-centered imaging; Postpartum; Pregnancy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Brain Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
Brain Diseases / etiology
Female
Humans
Neuroimaging*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications / diagnostic imaging*
Pregnancy Complications / etiology