Perioperative management of a parturient with hyponatraemia due to carbamazepine therapy

We describe the perioperative management of an epileptic parturient who developed hyponatraemia due to carbamazepine therapy. Caesarean delivery was performed under combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia with a good outcome for both mother and neonate. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach, anaesthetic implications and maternal and neonatal risks for a patient with hyponatraemia complicating carbamazepine therapy are discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.