Pemphigoid Gestationis and Fetal Outcomes

Infants of mothers with pemphigoid disease during pregnancy were more likely to be born prematurely or at low birth weight, but the adverse outcomes were not severe.

Pemphigoid gestationis is a rare immunobullous disease that occurs during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. Women who develop the disease are more likely to have adverse pregnancy outcomes than the general population. In this retrospective, multi-institutional analysis from England and Taiwan, researchers evaluated which clinical features in 61 pregnancies in 59 pemphigoid gestationis patients predicted poorer pregnancy outcomes.

Thirty-four percent of the births were premature (mean gestational age, 37.2 weeks); 34% of the neonates were small for gestational age (birth weight, <2500 g), and 34% had low birth weight (<10th percentile for gestational age). The percentage with each of these parameters in normal births is 6% to 7%. Feature…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)