Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder affecting predominantly women in their reproductive age. The course of the disease during pregnancy is unpredictable, although it is more difficult to manage earlier in the gestation. Myasthenia gravis with antibodies against the muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (anti-MuSK) has been described as a subtype of disease with more localised clinical features and a poorer response to treatment than acetylcholine receptor antibody (anti-AChR)-positive patients. Few cases have been reported in pregnant women, with deliveries being performed mainly by caesarean section. We report a successful case of vaginal delivery and describe our experience providing the first review of the management of this subtype of disease during pregnancy.

Objective. To determine the contribution of drug use during pregnancy to the route of delivery. Methods. A case-control study was conducted at a hospital in Coimbra, Portugal, between 2001 and 2014. Drug-dependent pregnant women (n = 236) were compared with a control group of low risk women (n = 228) in terms of maternal characteristics, obstetric history, pregnancy complications, and labor details. Factors that influenced the mode of delivery were determined. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS v. 23.0 (IBM Corp.). p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. Drug-dependent women presented a lower rate of cesarean delivery (18.2 versus 28.9%, p = 0.006). After adjusting for the factors that were significantly related to the mode of delivery, drug dependency influenced the rate of cesarean section (β = 0.567; 95% CI = 0.328–0.980). Within the drug-dependent group, the mode of delivery was significantly related to previous cesarean or vaginal delivery (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001, resp.) and fetal presentation (p < 0.001), but not with the type of drug, route of administration, or substitution maintenance therapy. Conclusions. The drug-dependent group presented a significantly higher rate of vaginal delivery. However, this was not associated with the behavioral factors analyzed. We hypothesize that other social and psychological factors might explain this difference.

No abstract

No abstract