Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis and Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature and Case Presentation

Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 Jul 23;58(8):984. doi: 10.3390/medicina58080984.

Abstract

Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) is a rare, usually autoimmune, disease, where surfactant accumulates within alveoli due to decreased clearance, causing dyspnea and hypoxemia. The disease is even more rare in pregnancy; nevertheless, it has been reported in pregnant women and can even appear for the first time during pregnancy as an asthma-like illness. Therefore, awareness is important. Similarly to many autoimmune diseases, it can worsen during pregnancy and postpartum, causing maternal and fetal/neonatal complications. This paper offers a narrative literature review of PAP and pregnancy, while illustrating a case of a pregnant patient with known PAP who developed preeclampsia in the third trimester but had an overall fortunate maternal and neonatal outcome.

Keywords: auto-antibodies; maternal–fetal transfer; pregnancy complications; pulmonary alveolar lipoproteinosis; pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Autoimmune Diseases* / complications
  • Dyspnea / etiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Lung
  • Pregnancy
  • Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis* / complications
  • Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis* / diagnosis
  • Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis* / therapy
  • Pulmonary Surfactants*

Substances

  • Pulmonary Surfactants

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.