A pregnant patient at 28 weeks with severe edema and hypertension should raise suspicion for which condition?

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Multiple Choice

A pregnant patient at 28 weeks with severe edema and hypertension should raise suspicion for which condition?

Elevated blood pressure with new edema after mid-pregnancy points to preeclampsia. This condition typically develops after 20 weeks and is defined by new-onset hypertension with either proteinuria or signs of organ dysfunction, reflecting widespread endothelial and placental issues. In a 28-week pregnancy, severe edema alongside hypertension heightens concern for preeclampsia and the need for urgent evaluation and monitoring, because it can progress to severe features, seizures, liver or kidney injury, or placental problems. Hyperemesis gravidarum causes intense vomiting and weight loss earlier in pregnancy, not the combination of edema with new hypertension. Placental abruption involves painful vaginal bleeding and abdominal tenderness rather than the edema-hypertension pattern. Cholestasis of pregnancy presents with itching and bile-acid elevations, with hypertension not being a typical feature.

Elevated blood pressure with new edema after mid-pregnancy points to preeclampsia. This condition typically develops after 20 weeks and is defined by new-onset hypertension with either proteinuria or signs of organ dysfunction, reflecting widespread endothelial and placental issues. In a 28-week pregnancy, severe edema alongside hypertension heightens concern for preeclampsia and the need for urgent evaluation and monitoring, because it can progress to severe features, seizures, liver or kidney injury, or placental problems.

Hyperemesis gravidarum causes intense vomiting and weight loss earlier in pregnancy, not the combination of edema with new hypertension. Placental abruption involves painful vaginal bleeding and abdominal tenderness rather than the edema-hypertension pattern. Cholestasis of pregnancy presents with itching and bile-acid elevations, with hypertension not being a typical feature.

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