Infectious respiratory diseases in pregnancy - Results of a 15-year study in Seoul

Purpose: To determine the incidence, clinical course, and outcomes of infectious disease during pregnancy. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of pregnant woman with infectious lung diseases including pneumonia and active tuberculosis. Demographic, clinical data and radiologic findings were collected for all the cases identified. Results: During the study period, our hospital had 14,603 pregnancies. Among these, eight patients (55/100,000) had pneumonia and two (14/100,000) had active pulmonary tuberculosis. The median interval between onset of symptoms and disgnosis was 8.8 days for pneumonia and 41 days for tuberculosis. All the pneumonia patients recovered, and death during the study period occurred in one patient with active tuberculosis. Conclusion: The incidence of pneumonia during pregnancy was not higher than that of non-pregnant women and the patients evidenced complete recovery. The incidence of tuberculosis was a higher incidence than reported in developed countries and could cause diagnostic delays and progress to acute respiratory failure. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the potential for nonspecific presentation of tuberculosis in pregnancy and should consider a diagnosis in women particularly in endemic areas.