title: Treatment of severe inflammatory eye disease in patients of reproductive age and during pregnancy.
abstract: Inflammatory eye diseases (IED) such as uveitis affect females and males in the prime of their reproductive life. Despite their propensity to lead to significant visual loss, there have been very few studies of the management of patients with IED who are pregnant or plan a pregnancy during the course of therapy. The first trimester and postpartum period may be associated with an exacerbation of IED and it is important to have available medications that control the disease and do not cause miscarriage or fetal abnormalities. Several immunosuppressive drugs are contraindicated in pregnancy (methotrexate and alkylating agents), while others (corticosteroids, azathioprine, and cyclosporin) may be considered for use in pregnancy. Most drugs are excluded from use in pregnancy not because of proven teratogenicity but because of the lack of available evidence of their safety for the fetus.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. d.wakefield@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu El-Asrar
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McCluskey
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014605:Uveitis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents