Perinatal outcomes of intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy: An 8-year case-control study

Previous studies of fetal effects have suggested that intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is associated with a higher rate of adverse neonatal outcomes including preterm birth, neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and stillbirth. The objective was to compare the neonatal and maternal consequences in pregnancies affected by intrahepatic cholestasis and normal pregnancies.

This case-control study compares pregnancies affected by intrahepatic cholestasis (pruritus and bile acid ≥ 10 μmol/L) with low-risk pregnancies managed between December 2006 and December 2014 at a French university hospital center.

There were 83 (59.3%) cases of mild cholestasis (10≤ BA ≤39 μmol/L), 46 (32.8%) of moderate cholestasis (40≤ BA ≤99 μmol/L), and 11 (7.9%) of severe cholestasis (BA ≥100 μmol/L). No in utero fetal deaths occurred in the 140 women with cholestasis or the 560 controls analyzed. The rate of respiratory distress syndrome was higher in neonates of women with intrahepatic cholestasis (17.1% vs. 4.6%, P<0.001; crude OR 4.46 (CI95% 2.49-8.03)). This risk was also significant after adjustment for gestational age at birth and mode of delivery, adjusted OR 2.56 (CI95%1.26-5.18). The postpartum hemorrhage rate was twice as high among the case mothers (25% versus 14.1% for controls, P = 0.002).

After adjustment on the confounding factors we found a higher rate of respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal morbidity among neonates of the cholestasis group.