OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) nephritis and its complications on the gestational results. METHODS: We evaluated retrospectively 76 pregnancies in 63 SLE patients. RESULTS: Arterial hypertension was detected as a clinical complication in 23 (30%) pregnancies. Twenty-seven (36%) pregnancies occurred in 19 patients with lupus nephritis. We found a significantly increased number of fetal deaths when patients with nephritis were compared with those without nephritis (37% and 12.2% respectively, p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to active nephritis and its diagnosis, there was a worse fetal survival rate when there was an association with antiphospholipid syndrome or one of the antibodies related to it, the presence of arterial hypertension and renal failure (even in early stages).
lupus pregnancy; preeclampsia; nephritis; antiphospholipid