Case report. Disseminated aspergillosis complicating pregnancy

Abstract

We report a case of disseminated aspergillosis in a hitherto healthy 24-year-old woman during her 24th week of pregnancy. Relevant findings at autopsy revealed innumerable septate, dichotomously branched (45°) hyphae compatible with Aspergillus in lung and liver tissues. Cerebral histology showed cerebral vessels occluded by hyphae causing cerebral infarction. There was no evidence of invasive aspergillosis in the placenta and fetal tissues. Aspergillus sp. was confirmed by amplification of a specific 357-base-pair amplicon from a paraffin block containing lung tissue. This case illustrates a previously uncharacterized spectrum of disseminated aspergillosis, indicating the need for a heightened awareness that Aspergillus species are opportunistic agents for invasive and disseminated infection in pregnancy.