Definition

1. Noun:
   • A serious medical condition occurring during or after pregnancy: Eclampsia is a severe complication of pregnancy characterized by the onset of new seizures (convulsions) in a person with pre-eclampsia, often accompanied by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. It is a life-threatening emergency.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The patient was diagnosed with eclampsia and required immediate medical intervention.
  • Eclampsia is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide.
  • The primary goal of prenatal care is to monitor for signs of pre-eclampsia to prevent its progression to eclampsia.

Advanced Usage

• Medical Context: The term is used almost exclusively in obstetric and emergency medical contexts to describe a specific, critical syndrome.
  • The differential diagnosis included eclampsia, epilepsy, and a cerebral hemorrhage.

Variants and Related Words

• Pre-eclampsia (noun): A hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that may precede eclampsia, characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organ systems.
  • She was hospitalized for pre-eclampsia at 32 weeks.

Synonyms

• Toxemia of pregnancy (with convulsions): An older, less specific term sometimes used synonymously, though "eclampsia" is the precise modern clinical term.
• Puerperal convulsions: A historical term referring to seizures occurring after childbirth.

Notes on Meaning

• Distinction from Pre-eclampsia: It is critical to distinguish between "pre-eclampsia" (a precursor condition) and "eclampsia" (the condition involving seizures). Eclampsia represents a severe escalation of the disease process.
• Scope: The condition can occur during pregnancy, labor, or in the postpartum period (after delivery).

Noun

1. a toxic condition characterized by convulsions and possibly coma during or immediately after pregnancy