Exacerbation of Wegener's granulomatosis during pregnancy: report of a case with tracheal stenosis and literature review.

Abstract

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a rare multisystem disease of unknown etiology. We describe a woman with WG who relapsed twice during 2 pregnancies with appearance of tracheal stenosis. During the first pregnancy which ended with a delivery of a healthy baby, the subglottic stenosis responded to laser radiation and glucocorticosteroid therapy. An uneventful therapeutic abortion was performed during the 2nd pregnancy. Our case brings to 15 the number of pregnancies which were recorded in 10 women with WG. Diagnosis of WG was done during pregnancy in 4 cases, and at the postpartum period in 3 cases. Eight pregnancies occurred in women with known WG, relapse occurred in 5 pregnancies. Two cases ended with maternal death. It seems therefore that pregnancy may have a significant contribution both to the relapse of WG and to its appearance.