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In this case, a woman in early pregnancy was initially treated for pneumonia after fever and cough, with penicillin producing ineffective response. Switching to cephalosporins plus methylprednisolone improved symptoms, but recurrence occurred after stopping. Contrast-enhanced chest CT later confirmed PE, and active anticoagulation led to complete clinical recovery, reduced abnormal imaging, and delivery of a healthy male infant.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/lessons-from-a-misdiagnosed-maternal-pulmonary-embolism-a-case-report-and-literature-review/455091/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/lessons-from-a-misdiagnosed-maternal-pulmonary-embolism-a-case-report-and-literature-review/455091.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Well Done","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":52},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is pulmonary embolism often misdiagnosed in early pregnancy?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"PE in early pregnancy can present atypical symptoms that overlap with normal pregnancy changes such as tachycardia, tachypnea, and shortness of breath, which makes differentiation difficult without further diagnostic testing.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What led to the final diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in this case?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"After initial pneumonia management and symptom recurrence, further chest contrast-enhanced computed tomography confirmed pulmonary embolism.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How was the patient treated after PE was confirmed, and what were the outcomes?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The patient received active anticoagulation, resulting in complete symptom recovery and significant decreases in abnormal imaging findings, followed by delivery of a healthy male baby.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},455091,1790794533,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":52,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},5909892210082,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/56001069da27c9f41e8?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1789614185077863061","®  \n Clinical Case Report   \nLessons from a misdiagnosed maternal pulmonary embolism  \nA case report and literature review  \nPei Chi, MDa , Rongxing Shi, MDb , Ting Wu, RNc , Meng-Jie Li, MDd , Hanlong Guo, MDe , Qu-Cheng Huang, MDe , Wen-Juan Liao, MDf,*  \n\n| Abstract\u003Cbr>Rationale: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a leading cause of maternal mortality in developed countries. However, because its clinical symptoms overlap significantly with normal physiological changes during pregnancy, it is extremely prone to misdiagnosis. Patient concerns: A pregnant woman in the early stage of pregnancy was diagnosed with pneumonia due to fever and cough. After ineffective treatment with penicillin, her symptoms were relieved after she was switched to cephalosporin antibiotics combined with methylprednisolone. However, the symptoms recurred after discontinuation of the medication.\u003Cbr>Diagnoses: Further chest contrast-enhanced computed tomography confirmed PE.\u003Cbr>Interventions: Through active anticoagulation treatment, the patient’s symptoms completely recovered, and her abnormal imaging manifestations also significantly decreased.\u003Cbr>Outcomes: Eventually, the woman gave birth to a healthy male baby.\u003Cbr>Lessons: The process of misdiagnosis in this case was complicated and worthy of further investigation. These findings suggest that antibiotics combined with methylprednisolone can alleviate the symptoms of early pregnancy PE, but it should not be used as the main treatment method.\u003Cbr>Abbreviations: CT = computed tomography, PE = pulmonary embolism. |\n| --- |\n| Keywords: case report, glucocorticoid, maternal, misdiagnosis, pulmonary embolism |\n\n1. Introduction  \nPulmonary embolism (PE) in the early stages of pregnancy is often misdiagnosed because of its atypical symptoms, which can overlap significantly with normal physiological changes during pregnancy. This diagnostic challenge is compounded by the fact that symptoms such as tachycardia, tachypnea, and shortness of breath are common in both normal pregnancies and PE, making it difficult to distinguish between the two without further diagnostic testing. [1] Physiological changes during pregnancy, such as increased blood volume and cardiac output, can mask the clinical signs of PE, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. [2,3] This delay is particularly concerning given that PE is a leading cause of maternal mortality in developed  \nPC, RS, and TW contributed equally to this work.  \nThe patient agreed to publish his medical data, including imaging and laboratory data, and signed the informed consent form.  \nThe authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.  \nEthical review and approval were not required for the study involving human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patient provided written informed consent to participate in this study.  \nWritten informed consent was obtained from the individual for publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.  \na Department of Obstetrics, Renmin Hospital of Qingxian, Cangzhou, China, b Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, c Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan, China, d Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Renmin Hospital of  \ncountries. [4] The diagnostic process for PE in pregnant women is further complicated by the limitations of traditional diagnostic tools. [5–7]  \n2. Case report  \nA 28-year-old married housewife presented to the hospital with amenorrhea for more than 2 months and fever with coughing for 1 week. She had no underlying disease. After amenorrhea, her blood human chorionic gonadotropin test and ultrasound examination confirmed early pregn","cbCais2L4AjFm3Db","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCais2L4AjFm3Db","pdf",558409,"English","# Abstract\n# 1. Introduction\n# 2. Case report","[{\"question\":\"Why is pulmonary embolism often misdiagnosed in early pregnancy?\",\"answer\":\"PE in early pregnancy can present atypical symptoms that overlap with normal pregnancy changes such as tachycardia, tachypnea, and shortness of breath, which makes differentiation difficult without further diagnostic testing.\"},{\"question\":\"What led to the final diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in this case?\",\"answer\":\"After initial pneumonia management and symptom recurrence, further chest contrast-enhanced computed tomography confirmed pulmonary embolism.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the patient treated after PE was confirmed, and what were the outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"The patient received active anticoagulation, resulting in complete symptom recovery and significant decreases in abnormal imaging findings, followed by delivery of a healthy male baby.\"}]","Lessons from a misdiagnosed maternal pulmonary embolism - A case report and literature review | PDF",1790742096,13]