title: Pregnancy in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Experience with more than 150 pregnancies of women with systemic lupus erythematosus demonstrates that: many conventional measures of lupus activity, including complement, platelet count and urinary protein, are invalid during pregnancy; pregnancy does not cause lupus exacerbation; anti-phospholipid antibody is common and is closely associated with fetal loss, but is not the sole determinant factor of fetal loss; specific characteristics of anti-phospholipid antibody do not identify which antibody-positive women will have poor fetal outcome; prednisone therapy does not improve fetal prognosis; and neonatal lupus, diagnosed by rash and thrombocytopenia, is common but congenital heart block is rare.
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY 10021.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lockshin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qamar
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Druzin
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D010743:Phospholipids