Ulcerative Colitis: Branche J

Branche J, Cortot A, Bourreille A, Coffin B, de Vos M, de Saussure P, Seksik P, Marteau P, Lemann M, Colombel JF. · Service des Maladies de l'Appareil Digestif et de la Nutrition, Hôpital Huriez, CHU Lille, Lille, France. · Inflamm Bowel Dis. · Pubmed #19137604 No free full text.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine is considered a safe and effective treatment of severe steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). However, few data are available concerning its safety profile in pregnant women. We report here the experience of 5 GETAID centers. METHODS: In a retrospective study data on patients with severe UC treated with cyclosporine during pregnancy were extracted from medical records of consecutive patients treated between 2001 and 2007. RESULTS: Eight patients (median age 30.5 years old) were identified. At the time of flare-up the median duration of pregnancy was 11.5 weeks of gestation (range 4-25). Seven patients had pancolitis. All patients had more than 3 commonly used clinical and biological severity criteria. Three patients had severe endoscopic lesions and 5 patients had not. All patients received intravenous corticosteroids for at least 7 days before introduction of cyclosporine. Two patients received azathioprine during treatment with cyclosporine. No severe infections or other complications due to treatment were observed. Treatment was effective in 7/8 patients. One patient received infliximab due to cyclosporine therapy failure with a good outcome. No colectomy was performed during pregnancy. Seven pregnancies were conducted to term, but 1 in utero death occurred due to maternal absence of S-protein. Two newborns were premature, including 1 case of hypotrophy. No malformations were observed. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, treatment with cyclosporine for steroid-refractory UC during pregnancy can be considered safe and effective.