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No increase in complications found in pregnant women with primary biliary cirrhosis

A majority of women with primary biliary cirrhosis had successful pregnancies and minimal complications at childbirth, according to data from a recent study.

Annarosa Floreani, MD, division of surgery, oncology and gastroenterology, University of Padova, Italy, and colleagues studied 233 women (mean age at diagnosis, 52.9 years) with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and 367 healthy female age-matched controls. PBC patients were treated with 15 mg ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) daily after initial diagnosis. Among PBC patients, 186 had at least one previous pregnancy. There were 507 pregnancies in the PBC cohort compared with 700 among controls (mean pregnancies, 2.73 vs. 1.91; P<.05).

Annarosa Floreani

PBC patients had a lower rate of one or more cesarean sections compared with controls (5.7% vs. 11.7%; OR=0.52; 95% CI, 0.29-0.94). Risk of miscarriage among PBC patients was inversely associated with early histological stage (stages I-II) during pregnancy (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.1-0.97), but not with advanced stage (stages III-IV; OR=0.53; 95% CI, 0.09-3.05). Eleven babies from the PBC group experienced perinatal or postnatal deaths or complications at birth (P<.05).

Preterm delivery rates were similar among the PBC group and controls (2.78% vs. 2.8%). Eight pregnancies among six patients in the PBC group occurred after diagnoses, but patients had no complications at childbirth. Among those patients, UDCA therapy continued during pregnancy without complication or progression of PBC.

“Successful completion of pregnancy and a favorable outcome is a realistic expectation for PBC patients,” the researchers concluded. “UDCA treatment must be continued throughout pregnancy to prevent the liver disease from progressing. It is nonetheless essential to monitor pregnancy and delivery carefully in PBC patients due to a potentially higher risk of childbirth complications.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.