P166 Inflammatory bowel disease: risk factors to disease activity during pregnancy and postpartum

Background

The literature suggests that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity during the periconceptional period is a risk factor for active disease during pregnancy. This study aims to evaluate if there is influence of IBD characteristics (type, classification, duration, activity in the periconceptional period, severity and treatment of disease) on the frequency of active disease during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods

Retrospective study that included pregnant women followed in Maternal-Fetal Medicine department at Hospital de Santa Maria diagnosed with IBD, with information on ≥2 of the referred variables and delivery between March 2012 and July 2018 (n = 37; 24 Crohn’s disease, CD and 13 ulcerative colitis, UC). The statistical tests used were chi-square and Fisher’s exact test.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference between CD and CU in the activity of IBD during pregnancy and postpartum.

Diagnosis >5 years and >10 years ago was associated with lower frequency of active disease during pregnancy (15% vs. 78.6%, p < 0.005 and 8.3% vs. 59.1%, p = 0.009, respectively), but did not influence postpartum activity. Age at diagnosis (≤16 years or 17–40 years) did not appear to influence IBD activity.

IBD activity during the periconceptional period and pregnancy had a statistically significant association (72.7% with active disease during the periconceptional period and pregnancy and 26.1% with quiescent IBD at the time of conception but active during pregnancy, p = 0.023). There were 3 cases of IBD remission during pregnancy (2 CD and 1 UC). Of the 15 cases of active disease during pregnancy, 6 of them (40%; 4 with CD and 2 with UC) were reactivations. 3 women had active IBD during the postpartum period and all of them already had active disease during pregnancy. Regarding severity, all cases of active IBD were classified as mild disease.

The type of therapy (biological, corticosteroids, thiopurines, salicylates, antibiotics or lack of therapy) was not related to disease activity during pregnancy or postpartum. Prior bowel surgery related to IBD (n = 7, all with CD) was associated with a lower frequency of active disease during pregnancy (0% vs. 51.7%, p = 0.027).