RADIOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE OF INTRATHORACIC COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY

The authors reviewed all chest radiographs obtained for pregnant women at a university hospital over a 15-year period to determine the intra thoracic complications of pregnancy and diseases occurring during preg nancy. The characteristic physiologic changes seen on chest radiograph s during normal pregnancy are reviewed. Examples of intrathoracic dise ases that may occur in pregnant patients include pulmonary embolism, a mniotic fluid embolism, beriberi, aspiration pneumonia, community-acqu ired pneumonia, viral pneumonia, asthma, systemic disease, trophoblast ic disease and peripartum pulmonary edema. The authors discuss the rad iation biology implications of performing chest radiography during pre gnancy and conclude that the benefit that the fetus receives from diag nosis and treatment of the mother's disease may be greater than the ri sk of radiation exposure.