Cerebralaneurismal rupture with subarachnoid hemorrhage during pregnancy : a case report

Intracranial hemorrhage due to arteriovenous malformation or intracranial aneurysm is a rare but severe complication of pregnancy with maternal and fetal mortality of 20% and 33% respectively. Whether to deliver the patient first, or to treat the aneurysm first is still controversial, but an emergency cesarean section followed by aneurismal treatment appears to be a widely accepted strategy in pregnant women with cerebral aneurysmal complications. Case: A 38-year-old patient, G3P2A0, presented at 36 gestational weeks with a diffuse bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhage with fourth ventricle bleeding and hydrocephalus. She had a cerebral aneurysm of the left posterior communicating artery on arteriography. A cesarean section was performed on the first day of admission, and an external ventricular derivation with clipping of the aneurysm on the left posterior communicating artery were done immediately after the cesarean section. Mother and newborn were discharged from hospital in a good health status except Broca’s aphasia in the mother. Conclusion: In the absence of categorical recommendations, we stress the role of combined care by both neurosurgeons and obstetricians, on a case to case basis according to gestational age, mother neurological status and experience of caregivers.