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Review
. 2018 Nov 3;18(1):434.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-2070-0.

Characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of patients with severe pneumonia complicating pregnancy: a retrospective study of 12 cases and a literature review

Pingping Tang  1 , Jiangshan Wang  2 , Yingna Song  3
Affiliations
Review

Characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of patients with severe pneumonia complicating pregnancy: a retrospective study of 12 cases and a literature review

Pingping Tang et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia during pregnancy has been proven to be associated with increased maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The management of severe pneumonia in gravid patients is even more challenging. Thus, we summarized the characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of these patients and explored the probable risk factors and predictive factors for pneumonia during pregnancy and the appropriate timing of delivery in severe pneumonia patients.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 12 patients who were diagnosed with severe pneumonia complicating pregnancy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2010 and June 2017. The clinical features, treatment strategies, and pregnancy outcomes were collected from medical records and telephone calls.

Results: All 12 patients were in their late second or third trimester. The patients had a higher prevalence of anemia (50%) and preeclampsia (25%) than ordinary pregnant women. Delayed diagnoses were not uncommon. Two mothers died in our series, resulting in a mortality rate of 17%. Two intrauterine deaths were observed. Elective delivery was not performed in any of the four patients in their second trimester. Six of the seven patients who presented after 28 weeks of gestation and had live fetuses underwent emergency deliveries. Preterm births (6/7) and cesarean sections (5/7) were the two leading adverse outcomes in newborns.

Conclusions: Anemia, advanced gestational age, and preeclampsia might be associated with the severity of pneumonia. Chest radiographs should be taken as soon as pneumonia is highly suspected to facilitate an early diagnosis. High incidences of adverse fetal outcomes were observed; thus, termination of the pregnancy is recommended for patients in their third trimester when respiratory function deteriorates progressively. However, it might be reasonable to continue pregnancy for those in their first or second trimester.

Keywords: Perinatal outcomes; Pregnancy; Pregnancy outcomes; Severe pneumonia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (protocol number: S-K489), and written informed consent was obtained from all patients or their families for data collection.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent for publication was obtained from all patients or their families at the same time of obtaining consent for data collection.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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