Abstract
In the past it was encouraged that systemic sclerosis patients didn’t get pregnant due to higher risk of poor maternal and fetal outcomes. However, now if we plan pregnancy when the disease is quiescent, under close monitoring and appropriate therapy we are likely to get successful pregnancy. It is encouraged to plan pregnancy when the disease is quiescent. The physical Investigations that need to be done prior to getting pregnant are:
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Blood pressure measurement
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Kidney function tests
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Autoantibody tests
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Echocardiography (heart scan)
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Lung function tests
Generally scleroderma does not worsen during pregnancy, but the most dreaded complication is scleroderma renal crisis. Even though ACE inhibitors are associated with increased risk of congenital malformations, they are recommended during pregnancy in scleroderma. So for all patients who become pregnant close monitoring for cardiopulmonary complications and renal crisis should be done. It is best to adopt a multidisciplinary approach for such patients.
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Sharma, S.K. (2020). Managing Pregnancy in Systemic Sclerosis. In: Sharma, S. (eds) Women's Health in Autoimmune Diseases. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0114-2_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0114-2_16
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