Clinical and perinatal outcomes in eclamptic women with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

Purpose To compare the clinical and perinatal outcomes in eclamptic women with and without posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). Methods This single-center, retrospective, cohort study was conducted between 2008 and 2013. The clinical and perinatal outcomes of eclamptic patients were obtained from hospital records. Magnetic resonance imaging was used for the diagnosis of PRES. Eighty-one eclamptic women were divided into two groups: 45 and 36 patients were included in the PRES and non-PRES groups, respectively. Results In the PRES group, headache and visual impairment together (60.0 %) were the most common presenting symptoms. In the non-PRES group, only headache was the most common (50 %) presenting symptom. Occipital and parietal lobes were the most frequently affected areas in the PRES group. Women in the PRES group had a higher body mass index value (p = 0.005), longer hospitalization time (p = 0.001), and higher level of proteinuria (p = 0.012) than those in the non-PRES group. Women in the non-PRES group had higher Apgar scores (p = 0.002) than those in the PRES group. Conclusions This study indicates that PRES manifests predominantly with headache and visual impairment together. Adverse neonatal outcomes are also common in these patients.