Anergy during pregnancy

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine whether the prevalence of anergy is higher among pregnant women than among nonpregnant women. Study Design: Sixty human immunodeficiency virus–seronegative women (n = 30 pregnant, N = 30 nonpregnant) from the Duke University Medical Center (Durham, North Carolina) clinic were enrolled. Skin tests were performed with purified protein derivative of tuberculin, Candida antigen, mumps antigen, and tetanus toxoid. A power calculation was done to determine adequate sample size, and data were analyzed with the Fisher exact test and the t test. Results: Three women in each group did not have a response to any of the antigens tested, for an anergy prevalence of 10%. Pregnant women were less likely to have a reaction to skin testing with tetanus toxoid than were nonpregnant women (10% vs 40%; P< .02). Conclusion: Human immunodeficiency virus–seronegative pregnant women did not appear to have a higher prevalence of anergy than that seen among comparable nonpregnant women. Human immunodeficiency virus–seronegative pregnant women who are being evaluated with the purified protein derivative of tuberculin skin test are therefore unlikely to need anergy skin testing just because they are pregnant. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:1090-2.)