Studies in Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Abstract. Fifty‐nine consecutive pregnant women complaining of pruritus without obvious dermatological cause were studied. In 57 women the presence in serum of an abnormal lipoprotein, LP‐X, characteristic conditions associated with cholestasis, was verified by an immunological technique. These 57 women were designated as having cholestasis of pregnancy. Clinical symptoms were related to liver function tests: serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, SGOT and SGPT. Compared with women with uncomplicated pregnancy, these patients showed a high frequency (p<0.05) and long duration (p<0.001) of emesis, food‐ and drug idiosyncrasy (p<0.001) and gall bladder disease (p<0.05). Based on liver function tests two groups of patients with different degrees of severity of cholestasis of pregnancy were differentiated. Thirteen cases, characterized by serum bilirubin >1.2 mg/100 ml and/or SGOT and SGPT >50 units/1, were called hepatosis of pregnancy (HP), while 37 cases with pruritus gravidarum (PG) represented a milder degree of cholestasis.