Pregnancy outcomes for women with pre‐existing renal disease and the role of a dedicated joint maternal medicine and renal clinic: A retrospective cohort study

Objective To reaffirm the value of a joint obstetric and renal clinic on obstetric outcomes in patients with high‐risk pregnancies due to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who attended the clinic between 2005 and December 2021. The hospital is a regional tertiary unit for renal medicine and a maternal medicine hub. The data included all women with pre‐existing renal conditions who were cared for in a dedicated renal and obstetric clinic. Datasets were extracted from hospital notes, the renal database, clinical data and maternity electronic health records. The data analyzed included pre‐existing renal conditions, biochemical parameters related to the renal condition, pregnancy outcomes included miscarriages, gestation, mode of delivery, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), loss, birth weight and neonatal admission. Results The results were as follows: Lupus nephritis: four term deliveries; three had pre‐eclampsia; two PPH and two miscarriages. Four estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) returned to baseline levels within 12 months. With regard to IgA nephropathy there were five live births, four term deliveries, two pre‐eclampsia (PE) and five cesarean sections (CS). All eGFRs returned to baseline within 12 months. With regard to patients with adult polycystic kidney disease (APKD), there were six live births, two had pre‐eclampsia and there were five term vaginal deliveries. Conclusion Patients with lupus nephritis, APKD, and IgA demonstrated a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes as compared with our local pregnant population. Our findings reflect those of larger studies and support the role of combined renal/obstetric clinics. More research and larger scale studies are needed into specific CKD conditions and their outcomes. Synopsis The obstetric patients with renal disease that were included in our data had a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes than the local pregnant population.