Many women with inflammatory arthritis stop filling prescriptions for medications to treat their disease during pregnancy, putting themselves at risk of disability and joint damage. Birru Talabi et al. examined why, finding that some women discontinue their medications out of fear, while others receive conflicting advice from providers or misinformation about medication safety.
Secher et al. evaluated the risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant patients with RA, axSpA or PsA, assessing the effect of disease activity and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs on this risk.
Chambers et al. found no evidence of an increased risk of major structural birth defects nor any increase in a wide range of other pregnancy outcomes attributable to prenatal exposure to hydroxychloroquine.
A study was able to quantify the transference of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors from mother to fetus during pregnancy. Overall, the researchers found low levels of transfer for the treatments studied.
Rheumatologists play a critical role in the reproductive health of their patients, but only half of rheumatologists currently ask their patients about reproductive health or family planning issues. A new guideline seeks to change that.
In March A&R, Remaeus et al. reported on the results of their study, which evaluated pregnancy outcomes in relation to anti-rheumatic treatment before and during pregnancy, as a proxy of disease severity in pregnant women with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), compared with those without PsA.
The ACR has developed educational materials for healthcare providers to use to discuss reproductive health and contraception with their patients with psoriatic arthritis.
ACR CONVERGENCE 2021—Rheumatologists are often left in a challenging space when managing medications for patients with rheumatic diseases in relation to contraception, pregnancy and breastfeeding, especially with many novel immunosuppressants and often a dearth of pregnancy safety data. On Nov. 6 during ACR Convergence 2021, leading reproductive health experts came together to speak on this…
Ghalandari et al. sought to validate the guidance outlined by EULAR for the use of anti-rheumatic drugs during pregnancy, finding that following its guidance for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors led to no or low concentrations of these agents in cord blood.
Contraception, disease control, family planning and managing life with an infant—five experts addressed these concerns and more for patients with rheumatic disease during a special online webinar.