Pregnancy in Takayasu arteritis: a cross-sectional study and review of literature.

OBJECTIVE

Takayasu arteritis (TA), a form of vasculitis affecting large-and medium-sized vessels; it mainly affects women of reproductive age. Although cardiovascular and hemodynamic changes during pregnancy represent a potential risk for TA, findings regarding risk in maternal and fetal outcomes are inconsistent. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and outcomes of pregnancies in patients with TA, along with a literature review of comparable studies on the subject matter.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2020. We evaluated 20 women diagnosed with TA according to clinical and angiographic findings.

RESULTS

The median age of the participants was 38 years. The median age at TA diagnosis was 26 years. Thirteen of the 20 participants reported at least one pregnancy. There were 38 pregnancies, including 26 deliveries (20 vaginal and six cesarean deliveries) and 12 abortions. The most common obstetric complication was spontaneous abortion (25%), followed by prematurity (7.89%), and eclampsia/preeclampsia (5.26%). Only one of our patients gave birth without any complications after being diagnosed with TA. In this case, the disease remained inactive throughout the pregnancy and postpartum periods.

CONCLUSIONS

The most common obstetric complication encountered was spontaneous abortion. The maternal and fetal outcome findings were similar to those of previously published studies. The literature shows that patients with stable pregestational TA generally have a good prognosis.