Variations of C3 and C4 Before and During Pregnancy in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Association With Disease Flares and Obstetric Outcomes

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Figure 1.
C3 levels at different time points (preconception visit and each trimester of pregnancy) in (A) SLE pregnancies with and without flare and (B) SLE pregnancies with and without obstetric complications. Data are represented as median (box: 25-75 percentile; whiskers: 2.5-97.5 percentile). * Wilcoxon sign-rank test: P < 0.05. Mann-Whitney U test: ^§ P < 0.05 (vs “without flare”); ^✤ P < 0.05 (vs “without complications”). 1^st: first trimester; 2^nd: second trimester; 3^rd: third trimester; Pre: preconception visit; SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus.
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Figure 2.
C4 levels at different time points (preconception visit and each trimester of pregnancy) in (A) SLE pregnancies with and without flares and (B) SLE pregnancies with and without obstetric complications. Data are represented as median (box: 25-75 percentile; whiskers: 2.5-97.5 percentile). *Wilcoxon sign-rank test: P < 0.05. Mann-Whitney U test: ^§ P < 0.05 (vs “without flare”); ^✤ P < 0.05 (vs “without complications”). 1^st: first trimester; 2^nd: second trimester; 3^rd: third trimester; Pre: preconception visit; SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus.

Table.

Predictors of flare during pregnancy in multivariable logistic regression analysis.

	OR (95% CI)	P
Disease activity in the 6 mos before pregnancy (SLEDAI)	0.89 (0.60-1.30)	0.54
Hydroxychloroquine during pregnancy (yes/no)	0.46 (0.14-1.55)	0.21
Low C3 at the preconception visit (yes/no)	1.68 (0.46-6.13)	0.17
Low C4 at the preconception visit (yes/no)	13.81 (3.10-61.43)	< 0.001