[Diabetic nephropathy and pregnancy]

Abstract

With a percentage of 20% diabetic nephropathy represents one of the most common causes of end-stage renal failure. During pregnancy it is associated with an increased perinatal morbidity as a striking result of the consistently high rate of 50% preterm deliveries mainly due to the frequent development of pre-eclampsia ranging between 35-55%. Perinatal mortality (0-11%) seems to be less increased in recent years. Simple and reliable screening methods by means of test-strips are available in order to detect microalbuminuria, which characterizes incipient diabetic nephropathy (stage III). Strict maternal metabolic control achieving normoglycemic blood glucose levels represents the basic of treatment. Furthermore, an adequate diet and control of blood pressure are fundamental issues of sufficient therapy. Currently, there are no data available to assess definitely the influence of pregnancy on the clinical course of diabetic nephropathy.