Skin diseases in pregnant women

ABSTRACT

Five hundred women from those attending the antenatal clinic of Kasr El Aini Hospital were surveyed to screen the physiological skin changes or specific dermatoses occurring during the period of gestation. Also modifications of previous dermatoses by the current pregnancy were looked for. Non-related concomitant dermatoses were also recorded. Physiological cutaneous alterations were the most frequent skin manifestations of pregnancy. They occurred in every patient studied in one form or another. Pigmentary changes occurred in almost all of the gravidas examined, followed by striae cutis distensae which occurred in approximately 80 percent of cases. Specific dermatoses were not commonly encountered in our patients. They collectively occurred in 22 cases [4.4 percent]. Pruritus gravidarum [recurrent cholestasis of pregnancy] accounted for 72.7 percent of all specific dermatoses diagnosed in our series of patients. Next came pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy which occurred in 4 patients [18.1 percent] followed by prurigo gestationis of Besnier which occurred in 2 patients [9.2 percent]