Pregnancy Outcomes of Patients with Takayasu’s Arteritis -- A Retrospective Clinical Analysis

Abstract Background: Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) often occurs in women of reproductive age and affect gestational outcomes. However, TA is a rare disease, and the number of reports addressing the effect of TA on pregnancy in Chinese women is small. We aimed to analyse the influence of TA on gestational outcomes and explore related factors.Methods: We studied the medical records of 28 pregnancies among 27 women with TA. Patient characteristics, TA activity and classification, treatment, laboratory test results, delivery mode, obstetrical complications, medical complications during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated and compared.Results: The mean age of all patients at delivery was 30.28±4.54 years. The live birth rate was 96.4%, and the gestational age at delivery was 36.5±2.78 weeks. Gestational complications included preeclampsia (22.2%), foetal distress (14.8%), intrauterine growth restriction (22.2%) and premature delivery (37.0%). Medical complications during pregnancy included heart failure (11.1%), pulmonary hypertension (3.7%), and Sjogren syndrome (3.7%). The TA status in ten pregnancies was active, and compared with those of pregnancies with inactive TA, the rates of obstetrical complications and medical complications were higher (P=0.014 and P=0.047, respectively). The rate of seeking standard treatment and follow-up was lower among patients with active disease (P=0.021). Among all patients, the Kerr scores and severity scores during pregnancy were similar to those before pregnancy (P=0.664 and P=0.134, respectively).Conclusions: Active TA may increase the risk of pregnancy complications and medical complications. When treated in a timely and appropriate manner, the gestational outcome is good.