An Unusual Medicolegal Case of 32-Year-Old Mother and Her 29-Week Fetus With Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet Count Syndrome: Case Report and Short Literature Review

Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2017 Sep;38(3):269-271. doi: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000328.

Abstract

Forensic medicine experts are well aware of blunt abdominal trauma, which often lead to death because of serious internal organ injury with severe blood loss. Sometimes careful examination of such cases may reveal some other underlying conditions, such as an existing disease that had contributed to the death or life-threatening complications. Our article presents a rare case of spontaneous hepatic rupture and intraperitoneal hemorrhage in a 32-year-old primigravida and her 29-week fetus, which was a result of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count syndrome. The said syndrome is a life-threatening obstetric complication usually considered to be a variant or complication of pre-eclampsia, which is characterized by hemolysis with microangiopathy, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Cesarean Section
  • Female
  • HELLP Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Hematoma / surgery
  • Humans
  • Liver / injuries
  • Liver / surgery
  • Pregnancy
  • Rupture / surgery
  • Stillbirth