Hyperemesis gravidarum
        Main and The Obgyn Clinic of Hvidovre (danish)
        Incidence: 0.1-1% of pregnancies.

        Findings:
          Nausea, vomiting and there may be ptyalism (excessive salivation).
          Normally from 6-16 weeks, maximum 8-12 weeks.
          Severity correlated to hCG and biochemical hyperthyroidism. Weight loss > 5%.
          Prefunderance of femal fetures. Conflicting evidence of the role of helicobacter pyleri Dehydration with hyponatremia, < 120 mmol can cause seizures, spastic parous and extremely seldom respiratory failure (osmotic demyelinisation syndrome).
          Hypokalemia. Metabolic hypochloremic alkalosis. Low serum urea.
          Vitamin deficiencies, B12 and B6.
          Mallory-Weiss tears of the esophagus and episodes of hematemesis.
          Ketonuria.
          Abnormal liver function test in severe cases.
          Abnormal thyroid function test: Increase T4 and decrease TSH but clinically euthyroid (no thyroid antibodies).T4 levels normal by 15 weeks, TSH levels remained suppressed for a longer period.
          Lack of Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) can cause Werniche's encephalopathy (40% fetal loss) with abnormal ocular movements, double vision ataxsia and/or confusion, in severe cases Werniche-Korsakoff's Syndrom psychosis (only 50% is cured).

        Diagnosis:
          Is a diagnose of exclusion.
          Other causes are most common: Urinary tract infection, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis and more rarely Addison's disease.

        Treatment:
          Intravenous fluid:
          Normal saline and potassium chloride is added to the infusion bags as required (no glucose infusion)
          Pyridoxin-B6 10-25 mg 3 times a day

          Antihistamine
          H1 receptor antagonists (Promethazine 25 mg 2-3 times a day). Dopamine antagonists
          Phenothiazines

          Metoclopramid
          should not be used for long period as it can cause dystonia.
          Serotenin 5-HT3 antagonist: Ondansetron (Zofran) 5-hydroxytryptamin receptor antagonist 8 mg 2-3 x daily or intravenous 10 mg 3 x daily, only few studies.
          Ginger 250 mg 4 times a day is more effective than placebo, but the use has recently been quistioned because of lack of evidence that Ginger is harmless in high dosis.

          Corticosteroid
          Methylprednisolone 16 mg 3 times a day (dose reduced by half every 3rd day), if tablet is not tolerated, hydrocortisone intravenously 100 mg BID.

          Parenteral nutrition and/or enteral feeding.
          Acupuncture -in PC6 and ST36mid seems very effective.
          Prevention of Werniche's encephalopathy: Thiamine 50 mg 3 times a day. For severe cases intravenous treatment is required, Thiamine 100 mg diluted in 100 ml of normal saline and infused over 30-60 minutes.

        References:
        (1) Jewell D, Young G: Interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Cochrane Library. Document 1998.

        (2) Nielson-Piercy, C. Handbook of Obstetric Medicine. 2001 Edition. (3) The management of Nausea and Vometing in Pregnancy SOGC Clinical Practice Guidelines N. 120 October 2002


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