Pityriasis rosea in pregnancy: report of a spousal occurrence and craniosynostosis in the healthy newborn

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rosea is a papulosquamous disease. It may occur during pregnancy; in this setting, it has occasionally been associated with adverse outcomes. PURPOSE: A woman who developed pityriasis rosea at the beginning of her eighth week of gestation is described. The outcomes in newborns delivered by pregnant women who developed pityriasis rosea during gestation are summarized. METHOD: A 28-year-old woman developed pityriasis rosea during her eighth week of pregnancy. Her husband had pityriasis rosea two months earlier. PubMed was searched for the following terms: conjugal, craniosynostosis, newborn, pityriasis, pregnancy, rosea, sagittal, spouse. The papers were reviewed and the references cited were evaluated. RESULTS: Our patient delivered a healthy male infant after 41 weeks of gestation. He had normal weight, height, and Apgar scores. Isolated sagittal craniosynostosis was diagnosed and was successfully treated at nine weeks after birth without complications. CONCLUSION: Several retrospective studies have investigated the possibility of adverse outcomes in infants born to women who developed pityriasis rosea during pregnancy, such as stillbirth, low gestational weight, hypotonia, and premature delivery. However, there are also reports of healthy newborns in women who have had pityriasis rosea during gestation. Our patient carried the fetus one week post-term and delivered a healthy boy via C-section; isolated sagittal craniosynostosis was later diagnosed and successfully repaired. The occurrence of craniosynostosis in a woman who developed pityriasis rosea during her first trimester of pregnancy may be two coincidental events.