Botulism in pregnancy - a clinical approach to diagnosis and management

Botulism is a life-threatening toxin mediated disease that often presents with a sudden rapid onset of paralysis of their skeletal muscles with subsequent respiratory compromise and sudden death. Given the natural physiological changes during pregnancy, pregnant women with botulism may experience a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine 2019-09, Vol.32 (18), p.3125-3132
Main Author: Rimawi, Bassam H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anti-toxin
Botulinum Antitoxin - therapeutic use
Botulism
Botulism - diagnosis
Botulism - etiology
Botulism - physiopathology
Botulism - therapy
diagnosis
Female
Humans
Immunologic Factors - therapeutic use
management
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - etiology
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - physiopathology
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - therapy
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Summary:Botulism is a life-threatening toxin mediated disease that often presents with a sudden rapid onset of paralysis of their skeletal muscles with subsequent respiratory compromise and sudden death. Given the natural physiological changes during pregnancy, pregnant women with botulism may experience a more exaggerated course and have worse outcomes compared to nonpregnant women. Medical providers caring for such patients should not only maintain a high level of suspicion for botulism, but administration of an antitoxin early in their care can help reduce morbidity and mortality, while awaiting confirmatory laboratory results. It is not uncommon for a medical provider caring for these women to mistakenly associate the signs and symptoms associated with botulism with pregnancy-related findings; therefore, this article illustrates a clinical algorithmic approach to caring for these women, including a systematic approach to establishing a diagnosis and management plan for pregnant women with botulism.
ISSN:1476-7058
1476-4954
DOI:10.1080/14767058.2018.1457641