Cerebrovascular accident with quadriplegia following postpartum eclampsia

A 26-year-old woman (para 1 + 0) was managed at the National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria for postpartum eclampsia with quadriplegia following referral from a peripheral hospital with a history of a solitary tonic/clonic seizure and unconsciousness. Her antenatal period had been uneventful until she presented with labour pains, where examination revealed an elevated blood pressure. She fitted once after delivery and remained unconscious for more than 12 h, hence the referral. The patient was managed in the intensive care unit (ICU), where she was found to be quadriplegic. She received mechanical ventilation for 21 days as part of her management in the ICU. Despite multidisciplinary care, she remained quadriplegic until a doctors' strike precluded further in-patient management. This rare complication of eclampsia is discussed, together with the patient's management.