title: Pregnancy outcome in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate pregnancy outcomes in women with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), and the course of disease during pregnancy was also assessed.
  
  
  METHODS
  This case-control study included 60 pregnant women who delivered in our clinic between March 2007 and 2015. Twenty of them diagnosed with AS formed the study group and 40 women were chosen as the control group. These patients were chosen and reviewed by their hospital records and were evaluated retrospectively in terms of their clinical characteristics, pregnancy complications and perinatal outcomes. The Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), a new composite index to assess disease activity in AS, was used in the assessment of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No adverse pregnancy outcome was noted in pregnant patients with AS. Mean age of AS patients was significantly higher than the controls (p = 0.037). The proportion of female fetuses was higher in pregnancies with AS compared to pregnant patients with healthy controls (p = 0.041). Fourteen (70%) of 20 patients displayed decrement in ASDAS during pregnancy. Course of AS was unaltered in 6 (30%) of 20 patients during pregnancy. Otherwise, the stage of the disease during pregnancy remained unchanged in 15 (75%) of cases as postpartum exacerbation was observed in 6 (30%). The reported symptoms of patients with AS during pregnancy were arthritis and uveitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with AS have a favorable pregnancy outcome, and pregnancy does not substantially aggravate disease activity or severity in these patients.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital , Ankara , Turkey .
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Timur
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital , Ankara , Turkey .
authors.forename: Aytekin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tokmak
authors.affiliation: b Ankara Training and Research Hospital , Ankara , Turkey , and.
authors.forename: Gülenay G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Türkmen
authors.affiliation: c Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Konya Training and Reseach Hospital , Konya , Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ali İnal
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital , Ankara , Turkey .
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uygur
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital , Ankara , Turkey .
authors.forename: Nuri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Danışman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; pregnancy; pregnancy outcome