Endoscopy in the pregnant patient with inflammatory bowel disease

Although little data exist directly evaluating the utility and safety of endoscopy in the pregnant woman with IBD, it appears to be well tolerated by both mother and fetus, and provides useful clinical information. When performed to evaluate gastrointestinal bleeding, EGD has a high diagnostic yield, while EGD for nausea and vomiting is less informative. In the patient without IBD presenting with hematochezia, unexplained diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, or severe rectal pain, careful sigmoidoscopic examination is indicated, often leading to a diagnosis of new-onset or unsuspected IBD. Likewise, the pregnant IBD patient with worsening symptoms, despite appropriate medical therapy, may also benefit from sigmoidoscopy. Colonoscopy is less often indicated, but can be safely performed in the carefully selected pregnant patient. In all cases obstetrical consultation should be obtained prior to endoscopy, and the risks and benefits of endoscopy to both mother and child should be considered. Close attention should be paid to appropriate drug selection for conscious sedation, and sedation should be administered to provide patient comfort, while avoiding oversedation. Extrapolating from data obtained during endoscopic examination of the pregnant non-IBD patient, fetal monitoring is generally not indicated, although it should be considered for the high-risk or late third-trimester patient. Following these principles assures that endoscopy can be safely performed in the pregnant IBD patient with the best possible outcome for both mother and baby.