Pearls & Oy-sters: Reversible Postpartum Pseudocoma State Associated With Magnesium Therapy: A Report of 2 Cases

Tal Friedman-Korn*, Yosef Lerner, Shalom Haggiag, Ahmad Nama, Dana Ekstein, Zohar Argov, Adi Vaknin-Dembinsky, Marc Gotkine

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) competes with calcium in normal synaptic transmission, inhibiting neurotransmitter release. As a drug, it is usually given as a treatment for eclampsia and preeclampsia. Two eclamptic pregnant women treated with Mg developed a pseudocoma state immediately after emergency Caesarian section. The clinical presentation was flaccid quadriparesis, areflexia, absent respiratory effort and vestibular-ocular reflexes, but with preserved pupillary responses. Decremental responses on repetitive nerve stimulation were found in both women. Recovery was obtained after cessation of Mg. The persistence of pupillary reflexes in the absence of reflexes involving striated muscles was an important clinical clue, indicating neuromuscular junction dysfunction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)433-436
Number of pages4
JournalNeurology
Volume99
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Sep 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© American Academy of Neurology.

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