Do you continue belimumab throughout pregnancy?
Answer from: at Community Practice
@Matthew Dwyer: @Anna Broder is absolutely correct regarding the limitations of our studies regarding using belimumab in pregnancy.However, how much more evidence do we need?No one is going to perform a prospective randomized controlled trial. I and some others I know are feeling more comfortab...
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Answer from: at Academic Institution
Thank you for your question. Although Belimumab appears to be safe during breastfeeding, pregnancy is a different scenario: it does appear to cross placenta and is detected in cord blood (Bitter et al., PMID 36604152). While there are several case reports and retrospective analyses reporting no incr...
Answer from: at Academic Institution
It depends on what else the patient has tried. If they haven't tried azathioprine then I may consider stopping Benlysta and trying azathioprine instead since we have more pregnancy safety data on that, but otherwise, I continue it and discuss what to do with timing towards the end of pregnancy.
Answer from: at Community Practice
The registries to date provide reassurance that belimumab use in pregnancy is likely safe with regard to demonstrable anatomic birth defects. I think the relevant concern going forward is to what extent belimumab exposure impacts the consitution of the immune system during fetal development. As note...