title: Marked improvement of Churg-Strauss vasculitis with intravenous gamma globulins during pregnancy.
abstract: Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is an extremely rare disease, and even less common in women of childbearing age. Patients with severe disease or those who are un-responsive to corticosteroids are usually treated with cytotoxic drugs, especially cyclophosphmide. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has became a promising, but not completely accepted, form of treatment for systemic vasculitis that is un-responsive to standard therapy. We report a case of a woman who presented with a CSS flare during pregnancy. Because of mono-neuritis, treatment with IVIg was instituted with successful results. Our case not only supports the beneficial effect of IVIg in CSS, but it also illustrates its successful and safe use in a patient who was pregnant. We discuss the indication of IVIg during the course of anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antigen (ANCA) vasculitis during the pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Service de Medecine Interne, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, 3 Place Arsonval, Lyon, CEDEX 03, 69003, France. arnaud.hot@wanadoo.fr.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hot
authors.affiliation: Service de Medecine Interne, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, 3 Place Arsonval, Lyon, CEDEX 03, 69003, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perard
authors.affiliation: Service de Medecine Interne, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, 3 Place Arsonval, Lyon, CEDEX 03, 69003, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coppere
authors.affiliation: Service de Medecine Interne, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, 3 Place Arsonval, Lyon, CEDEX 03, 69003, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Pierre Wertheimer, 59, Boulevard Pinel, Bron, 69394, France.
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouhour
authors.affiliation: Service de Medecine Interne, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, 3 Place Arsonval, Lyon, CEDEX 03, 69003, France.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ninet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015267:Churg-Strauss Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007155:Immunologic Factors