[Smoking cessation and pregnancy]. / Sevrage tabagique et grossesse.

Active and passive smoking during pregnancy induce several deleterious effects that may have a negative impact on pregnancy progress, fetus development and both mother and newborn health. Smoking cessation should be a rule for any woman as soon as the beginning of her pregnancy, or better in anticipation of a pregnancy when contraception is no more taken. Every caregiver must help every pregnant woman who smokes to quit smoking. Smoking cessation interventions in pregnant women must combine a psychological support (mainly with cognitive behavioral therapy) and nicotine replacement therapy, which can also be used during breast feeding. It is recommended to adjust the dosage of nicotine replacement therapy according to the symptoms of under or over dosage at the end of the first week of use. On the other hand, vareniclin and bupropion are contra-indicated during pregnancy or breast-feeding. Electronic cigarette is not advised during pregnancy. Prevention of smoking relapse in postpartum period is essential since a percentage as high as 50% of women having quit during their pregnancy resume smoking during the 6 months following delivery.

Pregnancy and primary Sjögren's syndrome: management and outcomes in a multicentre retrospective study of 54 pregnancies.

OBJECTIVES: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, mainly affecting women during the fourth decade of life. During pregnancy, the presence of anti-Ro/SSa and anti-La/SSb antibodies increases the risk of congenital heart block (CHB). Foetal and pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with pSS compared with the general population are difficult to evaluate because of confounding factors including age and body mass index (BMI). METHOD: The aim of this case-control study was to analyse the impact of pSS in pregnant women on foetal and pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: We enrolled 19 women with pSS (54 pregnancies) matched by age and BMI to 216 controls. Patients with pSS delivered significantly earlier (38 weeks + 3 days vs. 39 weeks + 2 days) and experienced more spontaneous abortions [< 22 weeks of gestation (WG)] than the controls [n = 16/54 (30.0%) vs. n = 1/216 (0.4%); p < 0.00001]. Preterm delivery (≤ 37+6 WG) was significantly higher in the pSS group than in the control group (29% vs. 12%, p = 0.04). pSS activity significantly affected the birthweight percentile, which was lower in pregnancies occurring after the diagnosis of pSS than in those occurring before (32.43 ± 21.57 vs. 60.46 ± 27.37; p = 0.008). No case of CHB was observed. CONCLUSIONS: pSS is responsible for an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. The duration of pregnancy is lower in patients with than without pSS, with more premature deliveries. Pregnancies that occur after the onset of the disease result in lower birthweight percentile children than when pSS is not clinically overt.

Differentiation between severe HELLP syndrome and thrombotic microangiopathy, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and other imitators.

Pre-eclampsia complicated by severe HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count) syndrome is a multi-organ disease, and can be difficult to differentiate from thrombotic microangiopathy (appearing as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or hemolytic uremic syndrome), acute fatty liver, systemic erythematous lupus, antiphospholipid syndrome and severe sepsis. Many papers have highlighted the risks of misdiagnosis resulting in severe consequences for maternal health, and this can be fatal when thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is misdiagnosed as severe HELLP syndrome. The aim of this paper is to propose relevant markers to differentiate pre-eclampsia complicated by severe HELLP syndrome from its imitators, even in the worrying situation of apparently indistinguishable conditions, and thereby assist clinical decision-making regarding whether or not to commence plasma exchange. Relevant identifiers to establish the most accurate diagnosis include the frequency of each disease and anamnestic data. Frank hemolysis, need for dialysis, neurological involvement and absence of disseminated intravascular coagulation are indicative of thrombotic microangiopathy. The definitive marker for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is undetectable ADAMTS 13 activity.

[Immune thrombocytopenia and pregnancy: State of knowledge and unanswered questions]. / Purpura thrombopénique immunologique et grossesse : état des connaissances actuelles et questions encore sans réponse.

Pregnancy is a common problem in women with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). It could be a source of anxiety for the patients and their family, nurses and medical doctors and many questions are unresolved in this setting. Most of published recommendations were based on experts' opinion rather than on evidence-based medicine and randomized studies. The objectives of this article are to remind the known recommendations and to discuss the unresolved questions and the prospective.

[How to manage a patient with chronic arterial hypertension during pregnancy and the postpartum period]. / Conduite à tenir chez une hypertendue artérielle chronique pendant la grossesse et le postpartum.

The management of chronic arterial hypertension during pregnancy and postpartum requires first to estimate the risk of the pregnancy, linked with the severity of hypertension, with cardiac and renal involvement, with its cause as well as with the background (obesity, diabetes, possible history of placental vascular pathology). On a very practical approach, antihypertensive drug has to be started or increased if systolic pressure reaches or exceeds 160 mmHg or if diastolic pressure reaches or exceeds 105 mmHg. Below this level, there are no evidence-based medicine data, but it seems reasonable to treat if pressure increases over 150/100 mmHg (140/90 mmHg in case of ambulatory monitoring). Excessive pressure figures control must be avoided as much as insufficient ones: in practice, it is necessary to decrease the treatment dose if figures are below 130/80 mmHg. Three antihypertensive drugs are consensually recommended today: alphametyldopa, calcium-channel blockers and labetalol. Monotherapy is most often sufficient; if needed, two of these drugs can easily be associated, and even three if necessary. Converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor II antagonists should not be prescribed to pregnant women. Betablockers and diuretics are not recommended. Whatever is the antihypertensive drug used, it is necessary to detect the signs of bad placenta blood circulation with uterine Doppler ultrasound and regular controls of fetal growth, and to check for appearance of proteinuria, defining then over-imposed pre-eclampsia needing immediate admission to the maternity. After delivery, lacatation suppresion with bromocriptin should not be prescribed.

[Thrombosis risk during pregnancy after history of cerebral venous thrombosis]. / Risque thrombotique des grossesses après un épisode de thrombose veineuse cérébrale.

INTRODUCTION: Few data have been published about the prognosis of a pregnancy following an episode of venous cerebral thrombosis (CVT), and far less about preventive strategy. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of a case series of 11 pregnancies in six women who had previously presented a CVT. RESULTS: The first pregnancies after CVT occurred on average 58 months later. Prevention with aspirin or heparin was administered in ten cases during pregnancy, and in all the cases with heparin in postpartum. No recurrence of CVT was observed. A minor pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in postpartum in one case. CONCLUSION: Prognosis of a pregnancy after a CVT seems to be favourable if a sufficient delay after CVT is respected. Although no results of controlled trials are available, prophylaxis with heparin is probably reasonable as benefit seems higher than risks and is strongly advised during the postpartum period.

Is incidental gestational thrombocytopaenia really always safe for the neonate?

It is widely admitted that neonates' platelet counts (PCs) are always normal in babies born to mothers with incidental gestational thrombocytopaenia. However, results of PC determinations at delivery have led us to wonder whether incidental gestational thrombocytopaenia is actually safe for the neonate under all circumstances, and to recommend that for every baby born to a mother with a pregnancy-associated thrombocytopaenia, even in the case of confirmed IGT, platelet counts on umbilical cord blood be closely monitored.

[Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: do not ignore cardiac involvement]. / Purpura thrombotique thrombocytopénique: ne pas méconnaître l'atteinte cardiaque.

INTRODUCTION: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a thrombotic microangiopathy due to ADAMTS13 deficiency (a von Willebrand factor's metalloprotease) with multiple organs' involvement, one of which may be the heart. CASE REPORT: We report a 29-year-old woman who presented a TTP during her last trimester of pregnancy, under the features of a HELLP syndrome. After caesarean section, cardiac involvement was revealed by chest pain, ECG changes, antero-septal hypokinesia and troponin rise. Cardiac MRI found no large-vessel ischemic heart disease and confirmed hypokinesia. CONCLUSION: When TTP is diagnosed, cardiac involvement must be systematically investigated by ECG and troponin assay because of the risk of a cardiac arrest.

[Maternal diabetic ketosic decompensation which occurred during corticotherapy for fetal lung maturation. A report of three cases]. / Décompensation cétosique d'un diabète maternel au décours d'une corticothérapie de maturation pulmonaire fœtale. À propos de trois cas.

Three cases of ketosis decompensation occurring immediately in type I diabetic after corticotherapy for lung foetal maturation (LFM) are reported. Few of observations have been published. Increasing doses of insulin is mandatory under close monitoring of blood glucose levels, in particular according to the protocol proposed by Kaushal et al.: infusion of insulin adapted to the results of glucose levels, as a supplementation to the usual doses in each patient. Diabetes does not lead to hesitate prescribing a corticotherapy for LFM, but requires a strict control of needs in insulin to avoid a ketosis decompensation.

[Infectious events during the course of systemic necrotizing vasculitis: a retrospective study of 82 cases]. / Événements infectieux au cours des vascularites nécrosantes systémiques: étude rétrospective de 82 cas.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the infections occurring in a series of 82 patients followed for a systemic necrotizing vasculitis and to determine potential risk factors. METHODS: We studied retrospectively the medical files of 23 Churg and Strauss syndrome, 18 periarteritis nodosa, 14 microscopic polyangiitis, and 27 granulomatosis with polyangiitis, over a 15-year period. Infection delay corresponded to the period from treatment to first infection or between two infections. RESULTS: A total of 61 patients developed 147 infections. Causal agent was identified in 70 cases, 42 were bacterial, 20 viral and 8 fungal. Bronchopneumonia was the most frequent infection (43 %). Sixty-two percent of infections occurred within 2 years after vasculitis diagnosis. Seven infections were major, requiring intensive care, with one infection-death related. Pneumocystis prophylaxis concerned 75 % of patients on cyclophosphamide. Significant factors reducing infection delay were initial hypergammaglobulinemia, hypoalbuminemia, lymphopenia, as well as cyclophosphamide and methotrexate treatment. Large quantities of corticosteroids, cyclophosphamide or azathioprine increased infection delay. This result underlines the early occurrence of infectious complications during vasculitis course. CONCLUSION: Infectious events occurring in systemic necrotizing vasculitis are frequent and occurs early in disease course, and could be prevented with simple prophylactic measures. Vasculitis relapse and infection share similarities and this require permanent clinical vigilance.

[Admission of women to an intensive care unit during pregnancy or the postpartum period: circumstances and prognosis. A retrospective series of 96 cases]. / Admissions en réanimation des femmes en cours de grossesse ou en post-partum: circonstances et pronostic. Une série rétrospective de 96 cas.

PURPOSE: Very few studies had been published about admission of obstetric patients in French intensive care units (ICU). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Files of women who had been admitted during pregnancy or the postpartum period to ICU of an academic hospital between January 1st 1997 and 31st December 2006 were analyzed. Diagnosis at admission, severity, main treatments and outcome were studied during two successive periods of 5 years. RESULTS: There were 96 admissions (0.95% of all admissions to ICU). They included 34 complications due to arterial hypertension (35%), among them 10 cases of pre-eclampsia, eight of eclampsia, seven of Hemolysis-Liver Enzymes-Low Platelet (HELLP) syndrome and two of retroplacental hematoma ; 26 postpartum haemorrhages (27%); and 36 miscellaneous diagnosis including two sepsis, four acute pulmonary oedema, four cardiomyopathy, three pulmonary embolism, and three acute liver steatosis. Mean Simplified Acute Physiologic Score (SAPS II) was 18.5±11.2 and mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) 2.1±2.3. The main treatments were mechanical ventilation (50% of all cases) and transfusion (32%). The average ICU stay was 5.7±5.4 days. Two maternal deaths were observed (aortic dissection and peripartum cardiomyopathy). The number of patients admitted for postpartum haemorrhage increased from five to 21 over the two successive periods of the study. CONCLUSION: The number of women admitted to ICU during pregnancy or the postpartum period is low. Admissions for hemorrhage have increased. Regular monitoring of maternal morbidity and mortality gives relevant clues for assessing the quality of obstetrical care.

Bell's palsy in pregnancy: underlying HELLP syndrome or pre-eclampsia?

Bell's palsy is not uncommon during pregnancy. An association with pre-eclampsia (PE) has been reported previously. Furthermore, it has even been suggested that Bell's palsy could be a predictor of PE. We report three cases illustrating various possible aspects of this association, one of them including the features of HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) syndrome.

[Chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenia outcome during pregnancy (62 cases)]. / Évolution d'une thrombopénie chronique idiopathique en cours de grossesse (62 grossesses).

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the platelet count outcome during a pregnancy occurring in a series of 62 women followed for a chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenia. METHODS: We studied the medical files of women who had a previous history of chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenia persistently below 150G/L for at least 1 year, and who became pregnant over a 14-year period. RESULTS: Sixty-two pregnancies (including 41 in women suffering from an immune thrombocytopenic purpura according to updated definition criteria) which occurred in 50 women, were analysed. At the beginning of the pregnancy, platelet count was above 150G/L in 16% of the cases and lower than 50G/L in 8%. Platelets decreased by more than 25% for 55% of the pregnancies, remained stable during pregnancy in 33% and improved in 12%. Platelet count remained above 50G/L in 70% of the pregnancies and higher than 100G/L in 27%. Mean nadir was 84G/L at 31 weeks of gestation. A treatment was started in 40% of pregnancies, among them 64% of the cases during the last month only in order to allow locoregional anaesthesia at delivery. Platelet count was below 150G/L at delivery in 82% of the women (116±56G/L). No bleeding occurred in 83% of the pregnancies. Neonatal mean platelet count was 225±87G/L, thrombocytopenia occurred in 17% of the babies (platelet count below 150G/L), without any serious bleeding. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy worsens chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenia outcome in half of the cases, most of the time without any haemorrhagic complications.

[Pregnancy and antiphospholipid syndrome]. / Grossesse et syndrome des antiphospholipides.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is associated with a risk of obstetrical complications, affecting both the mother and the fetus. Obstetrical APS is defined by a history of three consecutive spontaneous miscarriages before 10 weeks of gestation (WG), an intra-uterine fetal death after 10 WG, or a premature birth before 34 WG because of severe pre-eclampsia, eclampsia or placental adverse outcomes (intrauterine growth retardation, oligohydramnios). Pregnancy in women with a diagnosis of obstetric APS is at increased risk for placental abruption, HELLP (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelet count) syndrome and thrombosis that may be part of a catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS). A previous thrombosis and the presence of a lupus anticoagulant are risk factors for pregnancy failure. A multidisciplinary approach, associating the internist, the anesthesiologist and the obstetrician, is recommended for these high-risk pregnancies. Preconception counseling is proposed to identify pregnancy contraindications, and to define and adapt the treatment prior and during the upcoming pregnancy. Heparin and low-dose aspirin are the main treatments. The choice between therapeutic or prophylactic doses of heparin will depend on the patient's medical history. The anticoagulant therapeutic window for delivery should be as narrow as possible and adapted to maternal thrombotic risk. There is a persistent maternal risk in the postpartum period (thrombosis, HELLP syndrome, CAPS) justifying an antithrombotic coverage during this period. We suggest a monthly clinical and biological monitoring which can be more frequent towards the end of pregnancy. The persistence of notches at the Doppler-ultrasound evaluation seems to be the best predictor for a higher risk of placental vascular complications. Treatment optimization and multidisciplinary antenatal care improve the prognosis of pregnancies in women with obstetric APS, leading to a favorable outcome most of the time.