LONDON -- Inflammatory bowel disease roughly doubles a woman's risk of having a premature or a low-birth-weight child, according to a meta-analysis.
LONDON, Dec. 21-- Inflammatory bowel disease roughly doubles a woman's risk of having a premature or low-birth-weight child, according to a meta-analysis.
Women with IBD should be treated as a potentially high-risk group, said Paris Tekkis, M.D., of St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College here, and colleagues in an online report in Gut.
With data from a Medline search of studies published from 1980 to 2006, the researchers did a meta-analysis of 12 studies that reported pregnancy and birth outcomes for women with and without IBD.
The analysis of 3,907 patients with IBD included 1,952 (63%) women with Crohn's disease, 1,113 (36%) with ulcerative colitis, and 320,531 controls.
The investigators found that women with IBD had a 1.87-fold increase in the incidence of prematurity (< 37 weeks gestation; 95% CI 1.52 to 2.31; P
Clinical Tips for Using Antibiotics and Corticosteroids in IBD
January 5th 2013The goals of therapy for patients with inflammatory bowel disorder include inducing and maintaining a steroid-free remission, preventing and treating the complications of the disease, minimizing treatment toxicity, achieving mucosal healing, and enhancing quality of life.