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Immunosuppressive drug use in pregnancy

Michelle Petri1

  • 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument Street, Suite 7500, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Autoimmunity
|May 27, 2003
PubMed

Ideally, immunosuppressive drugs would not be necessary in pregnancy. However, in connective tissue disease (especially systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE) vasculitis, and sometimes antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, their use is necessary both to protect the health of the mother and to insure the success of the pregnancy. The more commonly used drugs will be reviewed, with an emphasis on human data, when available. Methotrexate and leflunamide will not be considered, for they should never be used in pregnancy.

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