[Significance of pruritus during pregnancy. Relations with the hepatic disorders of gestation].

The principal clinical and biological characteristics and the origin of pruritus of pregnancy (p.p.) which occurs in a little more than two pregnancies per thousand are considered in the light of 7 cases. As with recurrent jaundice of pregnancy (r.j.p.), of which pruritus represents a minor analogue, the symptoms occur solely during pregnancy and disappear after delivery. In p.p. signs of cholestasis are seen, more marked than in a normal pregnancy coming to term but less than in icterus gravidarum. The increase in transaminases seen in p.p. and r.j.p. does not occur in normal pregnancy. The two conditions, which may be grouped together under the term hepatogestosis, are benign as far as the mother is concerned but represent a definite and significant risk of prematurity for the child. It is possible to establish a relation between p.p. and/or r.j.p. and the hepatic manifestations associated with oral contraceptives. In both instances a genetic predisposition seems to favour the development of a cholestatic syndrome. A past history of p.p. represents a contraindication to the use of oral contraceptives. Cholestyramine, a bile salt chelator, gives excellent results in persistent p.p.