Tocolysis with ritodrine worsens cerebral oedema in a patient with brain injury

In a 33-weeks pregnant patient with a head injury, neurological status severely deteriorated after introduction of tocolytic treatment with ritodrine. On admission to the intensive care unit she scored 10 points on the Glasgow coma scale. She gradually recovered and on day 7 there was no neurological deficit, apart from slight confusion. The same day tocolytic treatment with ritodrine was recommended because of imminent premature labour. Fourteen hours after ritodrine infusion was started, the neurological status deteriorated severely. Urgent CT scan showed signs of transtentorial herniation. Ritodrine infusion was stopped and therapy for brain oedema was introduced. The patient made a good neurological recovery. A caesarean section was performed on day 11, because of placenta praevia, and a healthy girl was delivered. The patient was discharged without neurological sequelae. The clinical course and CT findings imply that tocolytic treatment with ritodrine can worsen brain oedema in a patient with a disrupted blood-brain barrier, as in head injury. The mechanism is probably analogous to the one by which ritodrine causes pulmonary oedema, a well-known complication.