Spinal hemangioblastoma presenting with low back pain in pregnancy.
BACKGROUND
Low back pain (LBP) is a very common complaint in pregnancy. For this reason, it is often considered directly attributable to the pregnancy rather than a medical problem requiring diagnostic workup. Pregnancy-related LBP should be differentiated from the rare cases of LBP associated with serious spinal diseases. Hemangioblastoma is a vascular tumor of the central nervous system that very rarely can involve the spinal cord. Pregnancy can increase the growth of hemangioblastomas, leading to the appearance of neurologic symptoms.


OBJECTIVE
To describe an unusual cause of LBP in pregnancy.


METHODS
A case report.


METHODS
A 38-year-old woman, with a history of surgical resection of a cerebellar hemangioblastoma at the age of 15 years, presented at 38 weeks of gestation with worsening LBP and numbness of the lower limbs. Diagnostic workup led to a diagnosis of spinal hemangioblastoma. The tumor was removed after cesarean section in the 39th week of gestation.


RESULTS
The detection of spinal hemangioblastoma resulted in a good outcome for both mother and infant.


CONCLUSIONS
This case emphasizes the main role of clinical evaluation in establishing the diagnostic workup, especially in pregnancy. Although LBP is commonly reported, this patient's medical history and the presence of clinical signs on neurologic examination suggested the need for further investigation.
Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy; Fondazione Alberto Sordi, Research Institute for Ageing, Via Álvaro del Portillo 5, 00128 Rome, Italy.
Fioravante
F
Capone
Paolo
P
Profice
Fabio
F
Pilato
Marcella
M
Zollino
Cesare
C
Colosimo
Vincenzo
V
Di Lazzaro
D000328:Adult; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D018325:Hemangioblastoma / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006623:von Hippel-Lindau Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*
Hemangioblastoma; Low back pain; Pregnancy; Somatosensory-evoked potentials; Von Hippel-Lindau disease