Scleroderma and pregnancy: obstetrical complications and the impact of pregnancy on the course of the disease

• Published in: Medicina clínica Vol. 113; no. 20; p. 761
• Main Authors: Jiménez, F X, Simeón, C P, Fonollosa, V, Espinach, J, Solans, R, Lima, J, Pérez-Bocanegra, C, Vilardell, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 11-12-1999
• Subjects: Adult; Chi-Square Distribution; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Incidence; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - epidemiology; Pregnancy Complications - etiology; Pregnancy Outcome; Retrospective Studies; Scleroderma, Localized - complications; Scleroderma, Systemic - complications; Statistics, Nonparametric; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0025-7753

To describe the outcome of the pregnancy in patients with scleroderma.
Patients with scleroderma and control group were included in this retrospective study. Two groups were different in pregnant patients with scleroderma: pregnancy before scleroderma (A1) and pregnancy after scleroderma (A2). The presence of clinical problems during pregnancy and the outcome of scleroderma were collected in a questionnaire. Differences in the frequencies of complications were analyzed using the U Mann-Whitney, the chi-square or Fisher's exact test when necessary.
The frequency of global fetal complications was increased in patients group, but there was no significantly increased frequency when variables were analyzed independently: number of births, miscarriages, fetal deaths, preterm births and low weight full term babies. There was no increased frequency of renal crisis, hypertension or eclampsia. Differences between diffuse and limited subsets were no observed. Improvement of scleroderma was seen in only 3 patients and worsening of skin thickening was experienced by 2 patients.
The pregnant scleroderma patients are a group with high risk pregnancies and therefore well-supervised pregnancies are necessary.