A Pregnant Woman Who Experienced Auditory Hallucinations Concurrent With Hyperemesis Gravidarum: A Case Report

Abstract Background: We report the case of a pregnant woman who experienced auditory hallucinations only while suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum. To the best of our knowledge, the present report is the first report of a case of obvious auditory hallucinations in a pregnant woman who had not been diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder. Case presentation: The patient was a 24-year-old pregnant woman who had not had a psychiatric disorder before. Two years prior to this admission, she became pregnant for the first time, and she was admitted to an obstetrics clinic due to severe hyperemesis gravidarum. Mild auditory hallucinations developed at the same time. After she gave birth, the auditory hallucinations disappeared. When she was 24 years old, she became pregnant again. She suffered from severe hyperemesis gravidarum from the early stage of pregnancy. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, she came to the Department of Psychiatry of our hospital for a detailed psychiatric evaluation and treatment because her moderate auditory hallucinations had relapsed. We administered an antipsychotic agent, perospirone, to treat her auditory hallucinations. The auditory hallucination disappeared, although the hyperemesis gravidarum persisted until childbirth. After childbirth, we discontinued treatment with perospirone, but her auditory hallucinations did not relapse. Conclusion: The auditory hallucinations may have occurred as a result of some complicated biological factors and psychosocial factors. Physicians should carefully consider some psychotic symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations, not only in the postpartum period but also throughout the course of pregnancy.