Neuroimaging safety during pregnancy and lactation: a review

New-onset seizure in pregnancy: case report and literature review

“…Of ten, cli ni cians are con cerned about the ion iz ing ra di a tion and io din ated con trast that are as so ci ated with CT scans. How ever, ma ter nal head CT results in very min i mal fe tal ir ra di a tion [14]. It has been es timated that fe tal ra di a tion dose is less than 0.1 mGy, and the risk of anom a lies, growth re tar da tion, or abor tion has not been re ported at ra di a tion doses be low 50 mGy [15].…”

“…Io din ated con trast me dia be longs to FDA cat e gory B be cause there are no ade quate and well-con trolled stud ies in preg nant women. How ever, ret ro spec tive stud ies have not found any clin ically im por tant ef fect on in fant thy roid func tion, and no ad verse ef fects have been ob served in an i mal re pro duc tion stud ies [14]. MRI is gen er ally pre ferred over CT since it does not use ion iz ing ra di a tion.…”

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis and Hypercoagulability Associated With In Vitro Fertilization

“…Iodinated contrast is thought to be safer than gadolinium because of the risk for accumulation of gadolinium in fetal tissue and amniotic fluid, although fetal effects are unknown. 1,5 CVST can occur in the setting of primary or inherited thrombophilia (antithrombin III, protein C and S deficiencies, and factor V Leiden), acquired thrombophilias such as thrombocytopenia or disseminated intravascular coagulation, trauma, malignancy, dehydration, or changes in hormone levels caused by pregnancy or oral hormonal supplementation with estrogen. [1][2][3][4]6,7 Estradiol is an essential sex steroid in women, mainly secreted from ovarian follicles during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.…”

“…Iodinated contrast is thought to be safer than gadolinium because of the risk for accumulation of gadolinium in fetal tissue and amniotic fluid, although fetal effects are unknown. 1,5…”

Cerebrovascular disease in pregnancy and postpartum

“…Pregnancy constitutes a physiological challenge to a woman's body [2], which also includes cardiovascular changes and a hypercoagulability state. In clinical practice, management of neurological complications in these patients is often challenging, because of concerns on the safety of the different imaging modalities [3 ▪▪ ], and lack of high-quality evidence to support management decisions [4]. At a second stage, women need adequate counselling about the safety of a future pregnancy.…”