Disseminated coccidioidomycosis as a cause of maternal deaths has not been reported previously. We are reporting 4 fatal cases, while a fifth case is still being observed. Unquestionably, other fatal and unrecognized cases have occurred in this endemic area, or the subjects have migrated to other areas, with a final diagnosis of maternal death due to meningitis of unspecified cause.
In Kern General Hospital for the year 1948, there were 4 maternal deaths in 2,410 deliveries; of these deaths, 3 were due to disseminated coccidioidomycosis. It is interesting to note that during the same year no mothers died of tuberculosis, either in this hospital or in Kern County. We feel that other cases will be discovered and reported and that the pathogenesis of disseminated coccidioidomycosis as a fatal complication of pregnancy and as a cause of maternal death will become well known.
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