Intravenous penicillin desensitization and treatment during pregnancy.

Untreated syphilis during pregnancy may result in stillbirth in one fourth of cases, while in infants who survive, there may be serious immediate and delayed manifestations. Penicillin is the drug of choice for treating both mother and fetus. We describe a woman with an allergy against both major and minor determinants of penicillin in whom syphilis was diagnosed on routine obstetric screening. Her obstetric history included one vaginal delivery at term and four subsequent spontaneous abortions at 12 to 16 weeks. The patient underwent desensitization utilizing graduated intravenous doses of penicillin followed by treatment with a constant infusion for eight days. She experienced no serious allergic reactions requiring alteration of therapy. We conclude that antibiotic desensitization may be a safe alternative during pregnancy if performed with careful monitoring. In this case, it allowed use of penicillin rather than less desirable alternatives.

Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography in the antenatal evaluation of conjoined twins.

Magnetic resonance imaging and sonography were used as diagnostic aids in the antepartum evaluation of two sets of conjoined twins. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 20 weeks' estimated gestational age on thoracopagus/omphalopagus twins and on omphalopagus twins at 20 and 30 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging is a complementary adjunct to ultrasonography and provides additional anatomically precise clinical data. The advantages of this noninvasive technique include a large diagnostic window allowing total fetal imaging with excellent resolution of tissue composition. Unlike computerized tomographic imaging, there is no associated radiation exposure. The principal disadvantages of magnetic resonance imaging at this time are the cost of the equipment and the lack of real-time imaging capability.