[Morbidity and mortality in pregnant patients with lupus erythematosus]

The clinical records of 14 patients with proved diagnosis of sistemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated to pregnancy, seen between november 1986, and july 1988 at the "20 de Novembre" Hospital in Mexico City, were studied. The following variables were evaluated: maternal age, of beginning of SLE, lupus criteria present at the moment of the acute phase of the disease, obstetric history, prenatal care, age of pregnancy, laboratory studies, therapy before, during and after delivery, children's findings, and maternal complications, 50% of the patients had history of previous abortions; there was a high incidence of preterm deliveries (42.86%); 71.42% of the patients suffered hypertension; 64.31% had anemia. Therapy was based on corticosteroids and antihypertensive drugs. There was a significant relationship between low hemolitic complement levels and product's weight.