Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug;308(2):379-385.
doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06744-5. Epub 2022 Sep 14.

Optimal management of ANCA-associated vasculitis before and during pregnancy: current perspectives

Ann-Christin Pecher  1 , Melanie Henes  2 , Joerg Christoph Henes  3
Affiliations
Review

Optimal management of ANCA-associated vasculitis before and during pregnancy: current perspectives

Ann-Christin Pecher et al. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) are a group of systemic vasculitis characterized by autoantibodies against neutrophil cytoplasmic antigens (proteinase 3 PR3-ANCA and myeloperoxidase MPO-ANCA) and inflammation of small vessels. AAV include the diagnosis Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), which share many clinical and pathological features. Immunomodulatory therapies have significantly improved prognosis during the last decade. Nevertheless, especially in undiagnosed and thus uncontrolled AAV mortality due to renal impairment or pulmonary haemorrhages is still high. AAV are rare in fertile women, as the typical age of manifestation is above 50 years but there are women with AAV who are or want to become pregnant. This review focusses on how to manage patients with AAV planning to become pregnant and during their pregnancy.

Keywords: ANCA; Autoimmune; Pregnancy; Treatment; Vasculitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

References

    1. Kitching AR, Anders HJ, Basu N, Brouwer E, Gordon J, Jayne DR, et al. ANCA-associated vasculitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6(1):71. doi: 10.1038/s41572-020-0204-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mohammad AJ. An update on the epidemiology of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2020;59(Suppl 3):iii42–iii50. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa089. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh P, Dhooria A, Rathi M, Agarwal R, Sharma K, Dhir V, et al. Successful treatment outcomes in pregnant patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides: a systematic review of literature. Int J Rheum Dis. 2018;21(9):1734–1740. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.13342. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Machen L, Clowse ME. Vasculitis and pregnancy. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2017;43(2):239–247. doi: 10.1016/j.rdc.2016.12.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Golenbiewski JYK, Burroughs C, Kullman J, Merkel P, Clowse M. The vasculitis pregnancy registry (V-PREG): information from the first 3 years arthritis. Rheumatology. 2019 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kez059.017. - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms