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Updated: Jan 22, 2026
Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation
Published on: January 17, 2011
An Unusual Case of Shock Following an Elective Caesarean Delivery
Anthony Paul Brennan1, Alex Eskander2, John Zois3
1Department of Cardiology, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Australia.
Background:
The differential diagnosis of peripartum chest pain and cardiogenic shock is broad and includes pulmonary embolism, amniotic fluid embolism, peripartum and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, and anaesthetic complications.
Case:
A 31-year-old woman with Addison's disease underwent an elective caesarean section that was complicated by chest pain and cardiogenic shock. After initial resuscitation, she was transferred to a tertiary hospital, and urgent transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe systolic dysfunction. She was treated with an increased dose of hydrocortisone and intravenous furosemide and improved. Follow-up imaging showed improvement of left ventricular systolic function.
Conclusion:
In patients with cardiogenic shock after delivery, early transthoracic echocardiography is a non-invasive tool that can rapidly narrow the differential diagnosis.
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