Treatment of Psoriasis with Anti-TNF Drugs during Pregnancy: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Published experiences of TNF-α inhibition during pregnancy consist of a limited number of case reports, series and ongoing registry data in patients with arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. A 28-year-old woman – with psoriasis vulgaris since she was 8 years of age and generalized pustular psoriasis during her first pregnancy (partially controlled with ciclosporin, oral prednisone and topical corticosteroids, when lupus anticoagulant was detected at another hospital) – presented 4 months after delivery with severe psoriasis (PASI = 15.4) that did not respond to ciclosporin (3 mg/kg/day). Ten days after the first infusion of infliximab (5 mg/kg), when the patient became aware that she was pregnant again, there was PASI75 response, and the patient wished to continue this treatment after being fully informed. Complete blanching was achieved by week 6 of treatment, and was maintained thereafter until the moment of writing (19 months after the start of treatment). She gave birth by caesarean delivery to a healthy female baby, who was breastfed for 1 month and has developed normally. The current report extends the available evidence on successful infliximab treatment in pregnant women, with the first case of a patient with psoriasis who presented impetigo herpetiformis during her previous pregnancy. No detectable adverse effects were detected in the neonate, despite potential exposure to infliximab throughout gestation and breastfeeding. Even though absolute safety is difficult to prove, available data suggest that women who become pregnant while taking infliximab or other anti-TNFα agents can be reassured regarding the continuation of pregnancy.