Postpartum cerebral angiopathy: an important diagnostic consideration in the postpartum period

A 32-year-old woman, gravida 4, para 2, presented with a severe headache 5 days after she had a vaginal delivery with epidural anesthesia. Nine days later she had neurologic symptoms develop. Magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral angiogram were abnormal with evidence of a vasculitis consistent with postpartum cerebral angiopathy. The patient received both methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide pulses with improvement of her symptoms. This is an important diagnosis for obstetricians to consider because it may result in serious neurologic damage if it is not diagnosed and treated early.