title: Pregnancy in peritoneal dialysis and an infant with a ventricular septal defect.
abstract: Fertility is markedly reduced in dialysis patients. Estimates of the frequency of conception in dialysis patients range from 1.4% per year in Saudi Arabia to 0.5% in the United States. The reasons for the rarity of pregnancy in dialysis patients are not well understood. In addition, there is a marked increase in the risk of pre-eclampsia, hydramnios, hypertension crisis, early uterine contractions and pre-term delivery. Herein, we report a 38-year-old Saudi woman with chronic renal failure who completed the full term of pregnancy uneventfully on peritoneal dialysis. Using a biocompatible dialysate solution, adequate metabolic and blood pressure control were achieved during pregnancy. The delivered infant was small for gestational age and was born with a ventricular-septal defect. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature of ventricular-septal defect in an infant born to a mother on peritoneal dialysis.
authors.affiliation: King Fahd University Hospital, Alkhobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alhwiesh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000628:therapy*