| Abstract | dc.description.abstract | Hormonal changes, prolonged fasting due to
vomiting and some medications used during pregnancy, may cause an acute crisis of
porphyria, sometimes unveiling a latent disease. Porphyria may also affect the evolution of
pregnancy. Aim: To study the reciprocal influence in the evolution of both pregnancy and
porphyria. Material and methods: Retrospective review of medical records of women with
porphyria followed by the authors. If additional information was required, an additional visit
to the clinic was scheduled. The characteristics of pregnancy, delivery and the newborn were
analyzed. Results: Information about 60 pregnancies in 17 women aged 18 to 43 years was
gathered. Among women with acute porphyria, one with coproporphyria had four pregnancies,
nine with variegate porphyria had a total of 34 pregnancies and two with acute intermittent
porphyria had six pregnancies. Five women with porphyria cutanea had a total of 16
pregnancies. Influence of porphyria in pregnancy: Compared to the general population, no
differences were observed in birth weight of newborns, frequency of gestational hypertension,
term or preterm deliveries of live newbornss, spontaneous abortions nor in tubal pregnancies;
there was a high frequency of hyperemesis gravidarum. Influence of pregnancy in porphyria: 5
of the 12 patients with acute porphyria, had an acute porphyria crisis, 3 during the puerperal
period and 2 during pregnancy (42% of women, 11% of pregnancies). All these crisis were
associated to the administration of medications. All patients survived. Two of these women had
six ulterior pregnancies without complications. Conclusions: Women with porphyria that
become pregnant have a higher frequency of hyperemesis gravidarum. Crises among women
with acute porphyrias, were always associated with the use of potentially dangerous
medications | en_US |
