Fulminant hepatic dysfunction in the third trimester of pregnancy accompanied by fever may result from disseminated herpes simplex virus. Since 1969, 24 cases of herpes simplex hepatitis, including the current case, have been reported. Mucocutaneous lesions are present in only half of cases; therefore, suspicion for diagnosis of this disease is low. Twenty-five percent of cases were not diagnosed until autopsy. Maternal and perinatal mortality are high, approaching 39 percent for both mother and fetus. Early recognition with initiation of antiviral therapy appears to be most important in maximizing survival.
With rapid decompensation of acute respiratory distress syndrome in pregnancy, despite aggressive medical therapy, complicating processes must be considered, especially with antiphospholipid antibodies, which can be associated with sterile heart vegetations and subsequent fatal thromboembolism.
Ureteroceles associated with a duplex collecting system may lead to obstructive uropathy, the most common genitourinary anomaly of the fetus. Although most frequently presenting as hydronephrosis, damage from obstruction is a progressive process which may even develop into bilateral renal dysfunction. Antenatal intervention for preservation of fetal renal function may be considered, but must be balanced against procedural risks. Therefore, accurate documentation of the progression may be necessary. In these cases, the development of the classic findings of two ureteroceles are documented over a period of several weeks using serial ultrasonographic evaluation. Postnatal evaluation of the infants confirmed the antenatal findings. The importance of serial ultrasonographic evaluation of fetal obstructive uropathies is dramatically illustrated.
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