[Intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy and perinatal risk]

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the accuracy of severity criteria applied in cholestatic jaundice in pregnancy related to health problems in the newborn. The sample, 209 cases, is formed by the total of hospital patients discharges from the Pathologic Pregnancy Unit. Severe cholestatic jaundice (59.3% of cases) presented early itching and impeding premature delivery as the most frequent severity criteria. We found that the greater number of severity criteria, the worse prognosis for the newborn, as shown by birth weight under 2,500 g and Apgar at the minute of 7 or less. Both differences were statistically significant (p = 0.0001; p = 0.0348). No maternal or perinatal deaths were found. Our conclusions are: 1. Severity criteria used in cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy are valied and 2. Clinical management of cases is appropriate, since the major risk reported (perinatal mortality) was absent and maternal and perinatal morbidity were less than those reported in previous studies.