Anorectal abscess during pregnancy

• Published in: The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 595 - 598
• Main Authors: Koyama, Shinsuke, Hirota, Masaki, Kobayashi, Masaki, Tanaka, Yusuke, Kubota, Satoshi, Nakamura, Ryo, Isobe, Masanori, Shiki, Yasuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2014
• Subjects: Abscess - diagnosis; Abscess - surgery; Abscesses; Adult; anal pain; Anorectal; anorectal abscess; anorectal symptom; Anus Diseases - diagnosis; Anus Diseases - surgery; Drainage; Female; Gestation; Hemorrhoids; Humans; Magnetic resonance imaging; Pain; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - diagnosis; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - surgery; Rectal Diseases - diagnosis; Rectal Diseases - surgery; seton drainage; anal pain; anorectal symptom; seton drainage; anorectal abscess; pregnancy
• ISSN: 1341-8076; 1447-0756
• DOI: 10.1111/jog.12184

Anorectal symptoms and complaints caused by hemorrhoids or anal fissures are common during pregnancy. It is known that one‐third of pregnant women complain of anal pain in the third trimester. Anal pain may be caused by a wide spectrum of conditions, but if it begins gradually and becomes excruciating within a few days it may indicate anorectal abscess. We experienced a case of anorectal abscess during pregnancy which was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and treated by incision and seton drainage at 36 weeks of gestation, followed by a normal spontaneous delivery at 38 weeks of gestation. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of anorectal abscess during pregnancy in the English‐language published work. The clinical course of our case and clinical considerations of anorectal abscesses are discussed.