Hepatic rupture in preeclampsia: the role of diagnostic imaging.

The diagnosis of hepatic rupture in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (preeclampsia and eclampsia) is rarely made preoperatively. Diagnostic imaging can be utilized in some patients to confirm the preoperative diagnosis. Since hematoma formation precedes hepatic rupture, then, when diagnostic modalities such as sonography and computed tomography identify patients with hematomas, these patients are at risk of rupture, and should be hospitalized until the hematomas resolve.