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Article: When routine becomes extraordinary: diagnosing and managing early preeclampsia.(The Master Class)
- Article from:
- OB GYN News
- Article date:
- March 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Classic preeclampsia occurs at the end of pregnancy, its hallmark a triad of symptoms listed in every textbook: hypertension, swelling, and elevated protein in the urine. We deliver these women, their blood pressures revert to normal, and we move on. Unless these patients have underlying renal disease, their hypertension is unlikely to recur.
But atypical preeclampsia often finds practitioners scratching their heads.
A woman with mild hypertension shows up at a routine prenatal visit in her mid-second trimester--a time when the blood pressure typically goes down. Maybe there's some protein in her urine, but we may feel tempted to shrug off these subtle ...