HELLP syndrome is mostly occurs in pregnant women. HELLP syndrome stands for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count. It is found that about 10 percent of the pregnant women suffer from this HELLP syndrome. It is prevalent in the pregnant women who are suffering from preeclampsia or eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a condition characterized by the elevation in the blood pressure and protein content in the urine and it usually occurs after the 20th week of the pregnancy and sometimes it leads to swelling of hands and face as well as Eclampsia is a condition which follows pre-eclampsia and it leads to convulsions or seizures in the pregnant women. However these seizures are not related to any brain conditions. When the case gets severe it becomes life threatening to both the mother and the fetus. The HELLP syndrome is generally associated with these severe cases.
HELLP may occur long before the term or even when the pregnancy is close to the term. Most of the women who get HELLP syndrome were first diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, but sometimes the HELLP syndrome occurs before the onset of pre-eclampsia. HELLP is sometimes the indicator of pre-eclampsia and is often misdiagnosed as hepatitis or gall bladder disease.
The HELLPS syndrome can be diagnosed by looking out for the symptoms like progressive nausea and vomiting, pain in the upper regions of the abdomen, vision problems, and headache. There will be tenderness in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen which is noticeable during the physical examination. On conducting test, the liver function test may come out with high results and the drop in the RBC and Platelets occur as well. Upon diagnosis, the most advisable treatment is to deliver the baby even if it is premature as there will be deterioration of the liver function in the mother and it may prove fatal to both the mother and the child.