Use of an Intrathecal Catheter for Analgesia, Anesthesia, and Therapy in an Obstetric Patient With Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome

Abstract

(A A Case Rep. 2016;6:160–162) In this case report, a 32-year-old primigravida woman with a history of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) presented to the labor and delivery suite at 40 weeks gestation in active labor and with pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS). PTCS, which includes IIH, is a rare disorder mainly of obese women of childbearing age, characterized by increased intracranial pressure in the absence of a space-occupying lesion, ventriculomegaly, or abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition. Symptoms include headache, pulsatile tinnitus, back pain, dizziness, photophobia, neck pain, cognitive dysfunction, radicular pain, diplopia, and in some cases, permanent vision loss. This patient was diagnosed with IIH at age 14 and was treated with multiple lumbar punctures and diuretics until age 18 years. She was then asymptomatic until 23 years of age, at which time she had a recurrence and resumed diuretic therapy until her pregnancy.