Anesthesia for emergency cesarean section in a parturient with undiagnosed acute fatty liver of pregnancy--a case report.

Few clinical diagnoses of acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) are established immediately upon admission, while anesthetic interventions are frequently required on an emergent basis. We report a patient with the admitting diagnosis of severe preeclampsia with fetal distress necessitating an emergency cesarean section. An epidural block was instituted before laboratory data were available. Rapid changes of coagulation profiles occurred after delivery. The peripartum anesthetic care of the pregnant woman is presented. AFLP was confirmed by liver needle biopsy 26 days later. Taking our case as an examplification, clinicians must have a high suspicion that AFLP may exist in concurrence with preeclampsia when a parturient presents manifestations of nausea, jaundice, elevated bilirubin, elevated liver enzyme activities, prolonged PT and PTT, or thrombocytopenia.