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Review
. 2012;24(Suppl 1):16-7.
doi: 10.5455/msm.2012.24.s16-s17.

Varicella Pneumonia in a 39-year-old Female in Third Trimester Twin Pregnancy

Rusmir Baljic  1 , Meliha Hadzovic  1 , Snjezana Mehanic  1 , Enra Lukovac  1 , Nada Koluder-Cimic  1 , Izet Baljic  2 , Bilal Imsirovic  3
Affiliations
Review

Varicella Pneumonia in a 39-year-old Female in Third Trimester Twin Pregnancy

Rusmir Baljic et al. Mater Sociomed. 2012.

Abstract

Conflict of interest: none declared.

Introduction: Chickenpox is disease caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), with possibly devastated consequences during pregnancy, for mother and neonate. Pneumonia is most common complication in pregnancy with very high mortality.

Case report: A 39-year-old female in third trimester twin pregnancy, referred to Clinic for infectious diseases in Sarajevo, with five days history of illness. Before the admission her condition get worse, with fatigue, exhaustion, and shortness of breath. In a first three days patient was febrile, tachydispnoic and ortopnoic. We started therapy with acyclovir and antibiotic. After four days we had detoriation in patient's condition. Chest X-ray revealed infiltrative shadows in basal parts of lung. Antimicrobial therapy was changed and corticosteroids were associated. Significant improvement was noticed after five days of therapy.

Conclusion: Varicella pneumonia during third trimester may have serious consequences for mother and child, with possible fatal outcome.

Keywords: pneumonia; pregnancy; varicella.

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