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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · AJP Rep 2023; 13(01): e1-e4
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1760758
Case Report

Pregnancy in a Patient with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Case Report

Rebecca Horgan 
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
,
Zeinab Kassem
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
,
Gloria Too
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
,
Alfred Abuhamad
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
,
Steven Warsof
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
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Abstract

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive restrictive lung disease. Data on the impact of pregnancy on IPF and maternal outcome is extremely limited. We present the case of a 35-year-old woman, gravida 1 para 0 with familial IPF with no oxygen requirement prior to pregnancy. The patient demonstrated significant deterioration in her lung function beginning at 22 weeks' gestation and underwent hospitalization at 272/7 weeks gestation due to acute on chronic hypoxic respiratory failure, ultimately requiring delivery at 28 weeks' gestation. The patient has not regained her baseline pulmonary function and remains oxygen dependent at 5 months postpartum. Based on limited available data, significant maternal morbidity and mortality is reported for women with IPF who become pregnant.

Key Points

  • Pregnancy outcomes in IPF are more severe than chronic interstitial lung disease due to connective tissue disorders.

  • Deterioration in lung function amongst pregnant women with IPF occurs predominantly in the late second trimester, and lung function does not appear to recover postpartum.

  • Significant maternal morbidity and mortality (40% at 1 year postpartum) is reported for women with IPF who become pregnant.

Keywords

idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - pregnancy - respiratory failure


Publication History

Received: 20 June 2022

Accepted: 22 September 2022

Article published online:
23 January 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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