Introduction:

HELLP syndrome is a rare hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with severe maternal-fetal complications.

Objective: to describe the clinical manifestations, pathophysiological mechanism, possible complications and treatment of HELLP syndrome.

Methods:

A search for information was carried out in the period March-June 2022 in the databases PubMed/MedLine, SciELO and Scopus, as well as in the ClinicalKeys services and the Google Scholar search engine. Original articles and systematic reviews written in the last 5 years, in Spanish or English, were selected.

Development:

HELLP syndrome is characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia. The main clinical manifestations are epigastric pain, abdominal pain located in the right upper quadrant, nausea and vomiting. Among the main complications are severe postpartum hemorrhage, which requires transfusion of blood products, coagulopathy, hemorrhage and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Conclusions:

immunological mechanisms secondary to inflammatory responses triggered by hypoxia/ischemia processes are involved in the genesis of this disease. This entity can be confused with others such as preeclampsia because it presents common symptoms. Laboratory tests confirming the presence of all or part of its components are required for definitive diagnosis. There is currently no specific treatment for HELLP syndrome, hence termination of pregnancy is considered as a solution, which requires stability of the patient's bioparameters.

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