What obstetricians should be aware of: serious side effects of antibiotic toxoplasmosis treatment in pregnancy

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. e240809
Author(s):  
Sara Ardabili ◽  
Joachim Kohl ◽  
Gülseven Gül ◽  
Markus Hodel

Infection with Toxoplasma gondii is usually an asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic, self-limiting disease in immunocompetent individuals. However, during the pregnancy, primary infection can lead to transplacental vertical transmission resulting in congenital toxoplasmosis with possible severe sequelae. The efficacy of systematic screening remains controversial and the effect of antibiotic treatment is unclear. Although main side effects of antibiotic drugs used for toxoplasmosis are well known, mostly from malaria treatment, there is a lack of information about occurrence in pregnant woman treated for toxoplasmosis. We report a case of a healthy pregnant woman with primary toxoplasmosis infection in the second trimester, who developed a severe adverse reaction in form of hypersensitivity pneumonia after antibiotic treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine and discuss the literature.

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2234-2236
Author(s):  
Dan Navolan ◽  
Florin Birsasteanu ◽  
Adrian Carabineanu ◽  
Octavian Cretu ◽  
Diana Liana Badiu ◽  
...  

Cigarette smoke contains over 7000 different substances some of them exerting harmful effects on embryo and pregnant woman. Nowadays 15 % of adult people and around 10-15% of pregnant women smoke. Previous studies showed that cigarette smoke compounds could exert pharmacodinamic effects and influence some of the second trimester biochemical markers concentration. Therefore there is a need to adjust the reference values of second trimester markers depending of the smoker status. The aim of our study was to analyse which of the markers are influenced by smoking and whether the software used to calculate the risk for aneuploidies is able to counterbalance this influence. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) and free estriol (uE3) values were measured in second trimester sera of 1242 pregnant women: 1089 non-smokers and 153 smokers. Only hCG second trimester values were influenced by smoking whereas AFP and uE3 values were not. The correction of medians according to the smoking status was able to counterbalance this effect.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Sarada Duwal Shrestha ◽  
Alka Singh ◽  
Laxmi RC ◽  
Benita Pradhan ◽  
Wufei Shah ◽  
...  

Introductions: The termination of second trimester pregnancy is challenging due unfavorable cervix. This study evaluate the efficacy and maternal side effects of intravaginal misoprostol for termination of second trimester pregnancy. Methods: During one year period from 15th June 2011 to 14th June 2012, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Patan Hospital, women admitted for second trimester termination of pregnancy for fetal congenital anomalies and intrauterine fetal demise were studied using the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics recommended doses of vaginal misoprostol. For congenital anomalies, 400 mcg 3 hourly to a maximum of 5 doses were used. For fetal demise, gestational age of 13-17 weeks received 200 mcg every 6 hourly to a maximum of 4 doses, and 18-26 weeks dose was adjusted to 100 mcg. Main outcome measures included success rate of abortion within 48 hours, induction to delivery interval and maternal side effects. Results: There were 40 patients during study period. Success rate for termination of 2nd trimester pregnancy within 48 hours was 88.8% for congenital anomalies. For fetal demise, success of termination was 90.9% at 13-17 weeks and 100% at 18-26 weeks. Median time from induction to delivery was 26.8 hours for congenital anomalies. For fetal demise, it was 18 hours for 13-17 weeks was and 24 hours at 18 to 26 weeks respectively. Abdominal pain was seen in all doses of misoprostol. Conclusions: Vaginal misoprostol is an effective method for termination of second trimester pregnancy. Plain Language Summary: The study was conducted to see the effectiveness of vaginal misoprostol for termination of second trimester pregnancy. The success rate of termination for congenital abnormality and fetal demise was high. Vaginal misoprostol was an effective method for termination of second trimester pregnancy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpahs.v1i1.13010 Journal of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. 2014 Jun;1(1):16-19


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-282
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Barr

Brain death during the second trimester of pregnancy creates a unique situation in which the mother is deceased, but life of the developing fetus still depends on somatic functions in the mother’s body. In this article, I show that when a pregnant woman becomes brain dead during the second trimester, it is morally licit, though not morally obligatory, to continue somatic support while the fetus develops. The interventions on the mother’s body are justified for the life of the fetus, especially in light of the unique mother–child dyad and the responsibilities the mother has for her child. However, this therapy is not frequently employed, and its success is unpredictable. In many cases, the expense and uncertain nature of the therapy may make it disproportionate. In such cases, somatic support of the mother’s body may be discontinued. Summary: When brain death is diagnosed during pregnancy, it is a challenging decision whether to use artificial ventilation and other heroic measures to support the developing fetus. This paper demonstrates that while these interventions are acceptable, they are not obligatory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-182
Author(s):  
Ingrida Platais ◽  
Tamar Tsereteli ◽  
Galyna Maystruk ◽  
Dilfuza Kurbanbekova ◽  
Beverly Winikoff

IntroductionWe aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a second-trimester medical abortion regimen using mifepristone and sublingual misoprostol with no maximum number of misoprostol doses in Uzbekistan and Ukraine.MethodsThis prospective open-label study enrolled 306 women with pregnancies of 13–22 weeks in Uzbekistan (n=134) and Ukraine (n=172). Women took 200 mg mifepristone at a place of their choosing, and 24–48 hours later received 400 μg sublingual misoprostol every 3 hours until the expulsion of both fetus and placenta. Study staff interviewed women about the intensity of pain, side effects, and satisfaction with the procedure. The primary outcome was the rate of complete uterine evacuation without surgical intervention or oxytocin at 15 hours after the first dose of misoprostol.ResultsThe median gestational age was 18.1 weeks, and half of the women (n=149, 48.9%) chose to take mifepristone at home. The majority of women (n=266, 86.9%, 95% CI 82.6% to 90.5%) expelled by 15 hours after the start of misoprostol treatment, and by 48 hours complete uterine evacuation was achieved in 296 (96.7%) women. Most women found pain (76.1%) and side effects (89.0%) to be acceptable or very acceptable, and reported high satisfaction (89.8%) with the procedure.ConclusionMedical abortion in pregnancies of 13–22 weeks with 200 mg mifepristone followed 24–48 hours later by 400 μg sublingual misoprostol administered every 3 hours until complete expulsion is effective, safe and acceptable to women. Women can be given the option to take mifepristone at home and return to the hospital.Clinical trials registration numberClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02415894, NCT02235155.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 774
Author(s):  
Gabriela Loredana Popa ◽  
Andrei-Alexandru Muntean ◽  
Mădălina-Maria Muntean ◽  
Mircea Ioan Popa

Vaccines are fundamental instruments upon which all modern medicine is hinged. This has recently come into the light because of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the public regarding vaccination. To this end, a questionnaire, which was disseminated to the general population between 2017 and 2019, was used. We evaluated the responses from 1647 individuals (61% female, with a median age of 37 years, mostly from urban settings). Most respondents (85%) had children and were in favor of vaccination. Our study underlines the role that family physicians have in the education and information of citizens. A small, but considerable, number of respondents (108, 7.84% of those with children) had not vaccinated their children according to the national vaccination scheme. Deterrents were considered to be lack of information and fear of side effects. However, 167 of our respondents (12.12% out of 1377 respondents with children) said that their child experienced adverse events—most of which were mild local reactions. Alternatives to vaccination were proposed by some. In this study, we highlight the attitudes of respondents and multiple gaps in general knowledge, both of which may need to be addressed, especially in light of the current pandemic situation and past failed campaigns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 229-232
Author(s):  
Emine Karabuk ◽  
Pinar Kadirogullari ◽  
Talat Umut Kutlu Dilek ◽  
Enes Ozluk ◽  
Gulsah Ozturk

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Alicia Martínez-Varea ◽  
Francisco Nohales-Alfonso ◽  
Vicente José Diago Almela ◽  
Alfredo Perales-Marín

A 35-year-old gravida 7, para 1, and abortus 5 female with hypogastric pain and inability to void urine after 14 + 3 weeks of amenorrhea was examined in the emergency department. One year before, a uterine prolapse had been diagnosed in another hospital. Examination showed a uterine prolapse grade 2 with palpable bladder. The patient was unable to void urine. After a manual reduction of the uterine prolapse, the patient underwent an emergency catheterization for bladder drainage. A Hodge pessary (size 70) was placed, which led to spontaneous micturitions. Due to the persistence of the symptoms the following day, Hodge pessary was replaced by an Arabin cerclage pessary. Although the pessary could be removed from the beginning of the second trimester, due to the uterine prolapse as a predisposing factor in the patient and the uncomplicated progression of pregnancy, it was decided to maintain it in our patient. Therefore, Arabin cerclage pessary allowed a successful pregnancy outcome and was not associated with threatened preterm delivery or vaginal infection.


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