ACUTE INTERMITTENT PORPHYRIA AND PREGNANCY

1471-0528

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Medicine

The case of a woman with acute intermittent porphyria successfully completing her second pregnancy is described.Seventy-two reported cases of acute intermittent porphyria complicated by pregnancy are reviewed. All but 5 of these patients suffered an attack during pregnancy. The mortality rate amongst primigravidae was 52 per cent, and in all cases 27 per cent.The severity of the disease during pregnancy is probably due to combination of the effect of pregnancy and injudicious administration of barbiturates. The mortality rate in pregnancy seems to be falling, probably due to an increasing awareness of the disease and its precipitating factors.

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