Successful management of Listeria monocytogenes pericarditis: case report and review of the literature.

Listeria monocytogenes, although an uncommon cause of illness in the general population, is feared principally because of the morbidity and mortality associated with CNS infections. Cardiovascular involvement with L. monocytogenes is very rare, and has been limited to endocarditis. We describe a case of Listeria pericarditis, which occurred in a 60-year-old man with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis who presented to the emergency department with asthenia, anorexia, and respiratory distress. The echocardiogram showed severe pericardial effusion and after pericardiocentesis, L. monocytogenes was isolated in the culture of pericardial fluid. After surgical pericardiectomy with draining of the pericardial effusion and antibiotic treatment with ampicillin, the patient experienced a slow, but full recovery. Documentation of L. monocytogenes pericarditis is an extremely rare entity with very scarce reports in medical literature, and is usually associated with a very poor prognosis. A case report is presented together with a review of the literature

Maternal Immune-Mediated Conditions, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Developmental Delay

The maternal immune system may play a role in offspring neurodevelopment. We examined whether maternal autoimmune disease, asthma, and allergy were associated with child autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delay without autism (DD) using 560 ASD cases, 391 typically developing controls, and 168 DD cases from the CHildhood Autism Risk from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study. Results from conditional logistic regression demonstrated few significant associations overall. Maternal autoimmune disease was significantly associated with a modest increase in odds of developmental disorders (combined ASD + DD; OR = 1.46, 95 % CI 1.01, 2.09) but not of ASD alone. Associations with certain allergens and onset periods were also suggested. These findings suggest maternal autoimmune disease may modestly influence childhood developmental disorders (ASD + DD)

Predictors of maternal and fetal complications in SLE patients: a prospective study

The aim of the study was to evaluate predictors of disease flares during pregnancy and obstetric and fetal complications in a cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. One hundred and thirty-two pregnancies in 96 SLE patients were prospectively followed by monthly clinical and laboratory evaluations. Predictors of lupus flares, fetal and obstetric complications during pregnancy were identified performing stepwise logistic regression analysis. Maternal lupus flares occurred in 57 % of pregnancies and were being best predicted by the number of flares before conception. Manifestations during flares were best predicted by the same features occurred before conception: dermatological flares by skin rash, renal flares by nephritis, and hematological flares by hematological abnormalities. There were 110 live births and 22 fetal losses. Among live newborns, 22 % were premature. Fetal loss was best predicted by hypertension at conception; miscarriages by the amount of steroids taken during the last year before conception; stillbirth by the number of flares during the last year before conception; preterm birth by the coexistence of anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome and anti-double-stranded DNA antibody levels before conception; premature rupture of membranes by high ECLAM score during the 6 months before conception, small for gestation age by hypertension at conception; and preeclampsia by positive lupus anticoagulant. Some independent predictors of lupus flares and fetal and obstetric complications were identified, which can help the risk assessment of pregnancy in SLE patients