Dermatoses of pregnancy. A prospective study from Benghazi, Libya

Introduction: Cutaneous findings in pregnancy can be physiologic, coincidental, alterations in pre-existing skin diseases or pregnancy specific. The Pregnancy dermatoses can impact the health of the pregnant woman and the fetus Objectives: Our objective was to determine the spectrum of skin disease associated with pregnancy and to identify the various types of pregnancy specific dermatoses and their fetal risk. Materials & methods: A prospective study was performed at dermatology out-patient department of Jumhoria hospital and Ibn Sina polyclinic, Benghazi-Libya over a period of 2 years. A total of 200 pregnant women presented with dermatological complaint were included. History, skin examination, and relevant investigations were performed. The patients with pregnancy specific dermatoses were followed up till delivery and the pregnancy outcome was recorded. The results were analyzed using SPSS. Results: Mean age was 32 years, 62% was multigravidae and 54% of pregnancy dermatoses occurred during third trimester. The highest number of cases presented with coincidental or preexisting diseases (71%); infections (34%), pre-existing skin diseases included eczema (13%), acne vulgaris (4%) and psoriasis (3%) Hyperpigmentation and strieagravidarum represented the main physiological changes (17%). Specific pregnancy dermatoses were present in 12%, these were intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (4%), atopic eruption of pregnancy (3%), pemphigoid gestationis (3%) and polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (2%). Fetal complications including fetal mortality were reported with pemphigoid gestationis (30%) and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (25%). Conclusions: This study provides important data on the spectrum of pregnancy dermatoses in Libyan patients. Most of the reported pregnancy dermatoses were benign with no adverse effect on the fetus. Pemphigoid gestationis and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy can be a source of significant fetal risk. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study carried out on pregnancy dermatoses in Benghazi, Libya.