Pregnancy Management and Outcomes In Women With Myeloproliferative Disease

Myeloproliferative diseases (MPD) rarely occur in women of reproductive age. But in recent years it becomes more often that young women suffer from these diseases. The development of new drugs and therapeutic strategies provides good results in survival rate and life prognosis for these patients. All this requires special options for management of pregnancy in women with MPD.

To develop the protocol of preconception planning and pregnancy management and to evaluate pregnancy outcomes and complications in women with MPD.

We have analyzed 110 pregnancies in 90 women. The prospective group (group 1) included 67 women who were treated according to our algorithm. Retrospectively we have analyzed 43pregnancies in 23 women (group 2) who did not receive a special treatment of MPD during pregnancy. Our trial included women with main MPD: essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, primary myelofibrosis. Pregnancy management included examination of blood cell count and hemostasis system twice a month, besides this the inherited trombophylia testing, lupus anticoagulant, homocystein level, antiphospholipid syndrome diagnostics and hematologic examination including trepanobiopsy and JAK2V617F mutation. Besides thorough laboratory examination our algorithm of pregnancy planning and management included cytoreductive therapy, antiaggregants, low molecular weight heparin, plasmapheresis, vitamins of group B. For the cytoreductive therapy we prescribed Interferon alfa which is the safest option in preconception planning and pregnancy management for women with MPD.

Termination of pregnancy was made in 2 (3%) women of group 1 and in 3 (6,9%) women of group 2 (OR – 2,44; 95% C.I.: 0,265; 30,109). In the group of women who were treated according to our algorithm 6% of women (4 pregnancies) developed spontaneous abortions. In group 2 without special treatment spontaneous miscarriages occurred in 62,8% in comparison with group 1 (OR – 16,88; 95% C.I.: 4,655; 74,177). First and second trimester spontaneous abortions in group 2 prevailed among all the miscarriages – 15 (34,9%) cases, stillbirth occurred in 12 (27,9%) cases. Preterm labor were in 5 (7,4%) and 6 (14%) pregnancies in 1 and 2 groups respectively (OR – 2,01; 95% C.I.: 0,471; 8,899). Full-term delivery occurred in 83,6% (56 pregnancies) and 16,3% of cases (7 pregnancies) in two groups (OR – 26,18; 95% C.I.: 8,441; 85,448). Complications of pregnancy were analysed in 61 and 13 women in 1 and 2 groups respectively. Pregnancy was uncomplicated in 21 (34,4%) and 2 (15,4%) cases in 1 and 2 groups respectively (OR – 2,89; 95% C.I.: 0,544; 28,852). The most often pregnancy complications were threatening miscarriage - 25 (41%) and 10 (76,9%) cases (OR – 0,21; 95% C.I.: 0,034; 0,937), anemia – 22 (36%) and 4 (30,8%) cases in 1 and 2 groups respectively (OR – 1,27; 95% C.I.: 0,307; 6,289). Although all pregnancies in group 1 were carefully observed and treated 14,8% of them (9 pregnancies) were complicated by placental isufficiency with IUGR in 5 (8,2%) cases. Placental insufficiency complicated 30,8% pregnancies (4 cases) including intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in 2 cases in group 2 (OR – 0,95; 95% C.I.: 0,161; 10,263).

Thus pregnancy losses in women suffering from MPD occur in 62,8% without special treatment and complications of pregnancy – in 84,6% cases. The development of algorithm for preconception planning and pregnancy management resulted in considerable decrease in miscarriages to 6% (P<0,001) and reduction of pregnancy complications to 65,6% (P=0,3).

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.