[Porphyria and pregnancy. Review of 17 women]

Hormonal changes, prolonged fasting due to vomiting and some medications used during pregnancy, may cause an acute crisis of porphyria, sometimes unveiling a latent disease. Porphyria may also affect the evolution of pregnancy.

To study the reciprocal influence in the evolution of both pregnancy and porphyria.

Retrospective review of medical records of women with porphyria followed by the authors. If additional information was required, an additional visit to the clinic was scheduled. The characteristics of pregnancy, delivery and the newborn were analyzed.

Information about 60 pregnancies in 17 women aged 18 to 43 years was gathered. Among women with acute porphyria, one with coproporphyria had four pregnancies, nine with variegate porphyria had a total of 34 pregnancies and two with acute intermittent porphyria had six pregnancies. Five women with porphyria cutánea had a total of 16 pregnancies. Influence of porphyria in pregnancy: Compared to the general population, no differences were observed in birth weight of newborns, frequency of gestational hypertension, term or preterm deliveries of live newborns, spontaneous abortions nor in tubal pregnancies; there was a high frequency of hyperemesis gravidarum. Influence of pregnancy in porphyria: 5 of the 12 patients with acute porphyria, had an acute porphyria crisis, 3 during the puerperal period and 2 during pregnancy (42% of women, 11% of pregnancies). All these crisis were associated to the administration of medications. All patients survived. Two of these women had six ulterior pregnancies without complications.

Women with porphyria that become pregnant have a higher frequency of hyperemesis gravidarum. Crises among women with acute porphyrias, were always associated with the use of potentially dangerous medications.