Spontaneous Adrenal Hemorrhage in Pregnancy

Abstract

Spontaneous adrenal hemorrhage (SAH) is a serious medical condition that occurs due to acute damage to the adrenal gland or chronic atrophy of the adrenal gland. Although pregnancy is a known risk factor for adrenal hemorrhage, its etiology and incidence are unknown, causing it to be a rare and poorly understood disorder in obstetric patients. For this reason, the risk of SAH being misdiagnosed is severe and may pose significant life-threatening consequences to the patient if left untreated. This report describes the clinical signs and symptoms, diagnostic testing and management of SAH by following a patient in the third trimester of pregnancy that developed a spontaneous unilateral adrenal hemorrhage. Fortunately, through the early recognition of SAH, the patient was successfully treated with complete resolution of her symptoms and was able to deliver at full term without any obstetric complications.

J Clin Gynecol Obstet. 2024;13(1):18-22
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcgo949