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Updated: Oct 16, 2026

Human Placental and Decidual Organ Cultures to Study Infections at the Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: July 21, 2016
Systemic phaeohyphomycosis in pregnancy and the puerperium
H Fletcher1, N P Williams, A Nicholson
1Department of Child Health, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
Abstract:
Systemic fungal infections are rare. In pregnancy, treatment is problematic because of the risk of possible teratogenic effects of the antifungal drugs. We present the case of a 32 year-old woman who presented during pregnancy with a two-month history of painless subcutaneous nodules. Excision biopsy of one lesion showed dematiaceous fungal elements. Anti-fungal treatment was deferred and the pregnancy proceeded uneventfully. The remaining nodules were excised at the time of caesarean section delivery. Three weeks into the puerperium, she developed generalised seizures and investigations indicated systemic fungal infection with positive cultures for Aureobasidium spp which responded to appropriate antifungal therapy of flucytosine and itraconazole.
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