Why the study?
Patients with Turner syndrome face elevated maternal mortality, largely related to cardiovascular anomalies such as aortic dissection, necessitating guidance on making pregnancy safe.
How can pregnancy be made safe and maternal mortality prevented in women with Turner syndrome?
How can pregnancy be made safe and maternal mortality prevented in women with Turner syndrome?
Multidisciplinary screening and cardiovascular risk management are essential to prevent maternal mortality, particularly from aortic dissection, in pregnant women with Turner syndrome.
Expert multidisciplinary care may improve Turner syndrome pregnancy outcomes; leaves open need for prospective validation of protocols.
Pregnancy is a crucial issue in patients with Turner syndrome (TS). Although natural pregnancies have been reported in 4-7% of TS patients, most women will need assisted reproductive technologies (ART) with oocyte donation. The main issue is the maternal mortality rate that is higher than in the general population. It is related to cardiovascular anomalies and particularly aortic dissection. TS, per se, is not a contraindication for pregnancy, but a multidisciplinary screening is mandatory before initiating a pregnancy. It includes repeated aortic diameters evaluation, blood pressure measurement and biological testing evaluating thyroid and liver functions, as well as blood glucose level. In order to make the pregnancy safe, contraindications of pregnancy should be respected and identification of high-risk patients for cardiovascular events should be performed. Hypertension and pre-eclampsia prevention may benefit from beta-blockers and aspirin, respectively. Collaborations between endocrinologists, cardiologists, and obstetricians are mandatory during pregnancy and even in the postpartum period. Counseling the patients about the risks of pregnancy, screening them and spreading the international guidelines to physicians taking care of patients with TS are the three pillars of a safe pregnancy.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Donadille et al. (2019) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: