title: [Chronic Q fever during pregnancy].
abstract: A 42-year-old woman visited the pulmonologist for follow-up after a pneumonia. In retrospect the pneumonia appeared to be a manifestation of an acute Q fever infection. A few weeks later the patient was found to be unexpectedly pregnant. At the normal serological follow-up six months after the primary infection chronic Q fever infection was diagnosed. Doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine are contraindicated in pregnancy and the patient was found to be allergic to co-trimoxazole. Therefore treatment with erythromycin was chosen on empirical grounds. The patient had many symptoms during pregnancy. After 38 weeks and 2 days amenorrhea labour was induced on maternal indication. Finally a healthy boy of 3850 grams was born by caesarean section. In view of the increased risk of chronic Q fever infection during pregnancy we advise intensified serological monitoring of patients with acute Q fever who subsequently become pregnant.
authors.affiliation: Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, afd. Obstetrie en Gynaecologie, Groningen, the Netherlands. j.munster@og.umcg.nl
authors.forename: Janna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Munster
authors.forename: Carl J C M
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Alexander C A P
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Leenders
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lestrade
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis*