Journal of Clinical Case Reports

Acute Pulmonary Edema Following Caesarean Delivery

Abstract

Sushama Raghunath Tandale, Surekha Shirish Patil, Deepak Raje and Mohsin Siddiqi

The presentation of acute dyspnoea during pregnancy and immediate postpartum period is less common, but should bring a number of important conditions to the mind of the attending physician. Pulmonary embolism, amniotic fluid embolism, pulmonary aspiration, undiagnosed cardiac disease and peripartum cardiomyopathy are some of the potentially devastating causes that must be considered in differential diagnosis. Women of child bearing age may have asymptomatic mitral valve disease which becomes unmasked during the hemodynamic stress of pregnancy particularly in third trimester and labour. Irrespective of cause, initiation of appropriate resuscitation is the priority. After resuscitation physician should focus on diagnosis and specific treatment of clinical condition. Here we present a diagnostic dilemma in acute pulmonary edema following caesarean delivery managed successfully with drug therapy and noninvasive ventilation. Echocardiography proved to be of great value as diagnostic tool.