Maternal cardiac arrest after intravenous methylergonovine administration during Cesarean section: A case report.

Kim, Hyun Jung; Song, Tae Bok; Choi, Ri Na; Kim, Jong Woon; Kim, Yoon Ha

doi:2012.55.8.578

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2012;55(8):578-581.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2012.55.8.578 Published online August 17, 2012.

Maternal cardiac arrest after intravenous methylergonovine administration during Cesarean section: A case report.

Hyun Jung Kim, Tae Bok Song, Ri Na Choi, Jong Woon Kim, Yoon Ha Kim

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. tbsong@chonnam.ac.kr

Abstract

Methylergonovine is commonly used for the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, which promotes contractions of uterine and vascular smooth muscles. However, this drug precipitates serious cardiac complications such as ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest in some patients as a consequence of coronary artery spasm. Cardiac complication of methylergonovine is often overlooked by an obstetrician because the frequency of this is very low during postpartum. We report a case of maternal cardiac arrest induced by intravenous methylergonovine which was recovered by prompt cardiac resuscitation and adequate medical treatment during Cesarean section of triplet pregnancy.

Key Words: Methylergonovine, Cardiac arrest, Cesarean section