Pregnancy outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with or without a history of lupus nephritis.

Background: Pregnancy is an important issue for many women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study examined maternal and fetal outcomes among SLE women with or without a history of lupus nephritis (LN).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 98 pregnancies in 57 women previously diagnosed with SLE who gave birth at our hospital.

Results: There were 44 pregnancies in women with a history of LN and 54 pregnancies in those without. Fetal loss was observed in 16.1% of SLE pregnancies when excluding induced abortion, and preeclampsia and SLE flare were observed in 12.2 and 6.1% of SLE pregnancies, respectively. No significant differences were evident between women with or without LN in rate of fetal loss, preeclampsia or SLE flare. Women with a history of LN exhibited a significantly shorter duration of gestation (37.0 weeks vs. 38.4 weeks, P = 0.006) and lower birth weight (2484 g vs. 2746 g, P = 0.007) than those without LN. Multivariate analysis revealed glucocorticoid dose but not history of LN, as an independent risk factor for preterm delivery and low birth weight.

Conclusions: This study was unable to conclude that a history of LN predicted pregnancy outcomes among SLE women. Instead, a higher dose of glucocorticoid at conception was unexpectedly associated with preterm delivery and low birth weight. Further studies are awaited to verify the relationship.