Pregnancy in patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease: a prospective case-control study

Objectives. To assess the outcome of pregnancy and disease flare or differentiation into well-defined connective tissue disease (CTD), in a cohort of pregnant patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) and to compare these findings with those obtained from a population of non-pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Lupus Vol. 20; no. 12; pp. 1305 - 1311
Main Authors:	Castellino, G, Capucci, R, Bernardi, S, Padovan, M, Giacuzzo, S, Pivato, E, Patella, A, Trotta, F, Govoni, M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London, England SAGE Publications 01-10-2011 Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:	Adult Antibodies Birth weight Case-Control Studies Connective tissue diseases Connective Tissue Diseases - complications Disease Progression Enzymes Female Humans Infant, Newborn Lupus Miscarriage Obstetrics Patients Preeclampsia Pregnancy Pregnancy Complications Pregnancy Outcome Prospective Studies Recurrence Risk Factors Womens health Young Adult Italy undifferentiated connective tissue disease systemic lupus erythematosus flares outcome pregnancy
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Summary:	Objectives. To assess the outcome of pregnancy and disease flare or differentiation into well-defined connective tissue disease (CTD), in a cohort of pregnant patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) and to compare these findings with those obtained from a population of non-pregnant women with UCTD. Methods. In total, 55 pregnancies (in 50 UCTD patients) were monitored from the positive pregnancy test until the sixth month after delivery. Likewise, during a 15-month timeframe, the incidence of flares or evolution into a major CTD was also recorded in a population of 53 non-pregnant women with UCTD. The Student t-test was applied for unpaired, continuous variables and chi-square was applied when percentages were compared. Results. The mean duration of the successful pregnancies was 38.6 weeks (range 28–42) while the mean birth weight was 3190 g (range 1200–4600 g). Three pregnancies (5.4%) ended in miscarriage. The following obstetric complications were found: five premature membrane ruptures, two preeclampsia and two intra-uterine growth restrictions. In a total of 16 patients (32%) the disease flared during pregnancy or during the 6-month post-delivery period. Of these, five developed well-defined CTD after delivery. In the control population, six patients flared (11%) and, of these, only one developed a well-defined CTD. Conclusions. If pregnancy is properly treated, the outcome in UCTD patients is generally good while, considering disease activity, pregnancy appears to be a clear risk factor for flare up or evolution into well-defined CTD.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0961-2033 1477-0962
DOI:	10.1177/0961203311409610