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Cirrhosis and pregnancy: a single centre experience

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Cirrhosis is a diffuse pathology characterized by fibrosis of the liver and is the last stage of chronic liver diseases. It is a serious medical condition which seriously impacts reproduction and reproductive life span. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of pregnancies complicated with liver cirrhosis.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of the fetal and maternal results of 20 pregnant women with liver cirrhosis who had undergone antenatal follow-up and delivery at a tertiary center in a 12-year period was performed.

Results

Chronic hepatitis B was found to be the leading cause of liver cirrhosis in the study group, with a rate of 25% (n: 5/20). The average MELD score was calculated as 8.8 ± 3.5. Only three patients developed hepatic decompensation during pregnancy. Fetal demise was observed in 10% of the cases (n: 2/20, MELD scores 8 and 17). MELD score was significantly higher in the patients with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Conclusion

Even though pregnancy is rarely observed in women with liver cirrhosis, many patients are able to achieve favorable maternal and fetal results without developing hepatic decompensation with appropriate management and close follow-up. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is a clinical tool utilized to estimate the severity and survival for chronic liver disease and was previously found to be associated with unfavorable outcomes in pregnant patients. Our study confirms this finding with the current experience from a tertiary care center.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ege University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey

    Metehan Imamoglu, Huseyin Ekici, Firat Okmen & Mete Ergenoglu

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bridgeport Hospital/Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT, USA

    Metehan Imamoglu

Authors
  1. Metehan Imamoglu
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  2. Huseyin Ekici
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  3. Firat Okmen
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  4. Mete Ergenoglu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by MI, HE, FO and ME. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MI, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Metehan Imamoglu.

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Imamoglu, M., Ekici, H., Okmen, F. et al. Cirrhosis and pregnancy: a single centre experience. Arch Gynecol Obstet 308, 111–116 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06706-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06706-x

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