Pregnancy outcome in liver transplant recipients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate pregnancy course, complications, and outcomes in liver transplant recipients.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 38 pregnancies conceived between 1992 and 2002 in 29 women who underwent liver transplantation at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

RESULTS: The most common primary liver disease was autoimmune hepatitis. All patients were on immunosuppressive regimens that included cyclosporine A or tacrolimus. There were four spontaneous first-trimester abortions and ten first-trimester terminations for worsening liver function. The interval from transplantation to pregnancy was shorter in the group that had abortions and terminations (24.4 +/- 24.3 months) as compared with the group that had live births (47.8 +/- 28.7 months), P =.02. There were 24 live births to 20 patients. The mean gestational age at delivery was 36.4 weeks, and the mean birth weight was 2762 g. Pregnancy complications included preeclampsia (20.8%), chronic hypertension (20.8%), hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets syndrome (8.3%), creatinine 1.3 mg/dL or more (25.0%), anemia (33.3%), diabetes (37.5%), cesarean delivery (45.8%), preterm birth less than 37 weeks (29.2%), intrauterine growth restriction (16.7%), and biopsy-proven graft rejection during pregnancy (16.7%). There were no intrauterine or neonatal deaths. All 5-minute Apgar scores were greater than 7. Four minor congenital anomalies were noted. Before 1997, there were five maternal deaths, 10-54 months after pregnancy. Pregnancy complications in our population were more common in those patients who delivered from 1992 to 1997 than in those who delivered from 1998 to 2002.

CONCLUSION: Pregnancy planned at least 2 years after liver transplantation with stable allograft function can have excellent maternal and neonatal outcome.