ABSTRACT
In 2020, a new coronavirus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in China. SARS-CoV-2 infection has been shown to be highly morbid in pregnant women, being a risk factor for several obstetric conditions leading to increased maternal and neonatal mortality. A few studies since 2020 have shown SARS-CoV-2 maternal-fetal transmission and noted placental abnormalities grouped under the term placentitis. We hypothesized that these placental lesions could be responsible for abnormalities in placental exchange and therefore abnormalities in cardiotocographic monitoring, leading to premature fetal extraction. The objective is to identify the clinical, biochemical, and histological determinants associated with the occurrence of non-reassuring fetal heart rate (NRFHR) outside labor in fetuses of SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers. We conducted a retrospective multicenter case series of the natural history of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infections resulting in fetal delivery outside labor due to NRFHR. Collaboration was sought with the maternity hospitals in the CEGORIF, the APHP and Brussels hospitals. The investigators were contacted by e-mail on three successive occasions over a period of one year. Data from 17 mothers and 17 fetuses were analyzed. Most women had a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection; only two women presented severe infection. No woman was vaccinated. We found a substantial proportion of maternal coagulopathy at birth: elevation of APTT ratio (62%), thrombocytopenia (41%) and liver cytolysis (58.3%). Iatrogenic prematurity was noted in 15 of 17 fetuses, and 100% were born by cesarean delivery due to emergency criteria. One male neonate died on the day of birth due to peripartum asphyxia. Three cases of maternal-fetal transmission were recorded following WHO criteria. Placental analysis in 15 cases revealed eight cases of SARS-CoV-2 placentitis, causing placental insufficiency. In total, 100% of the placentas analyzed showed at least one lesion suggestive of placentitis. SARS-CoV-2 maternal infection during pregnancy is likely to generate neonatal morbidity in relation to placental damage resulting in placental insufficiency. This morbidity may be the consequence of induced prematurity as well as acidosis in the most severe situations. Placental damage occurred in unvaccinated women and in women with no identified risk factor, in contrast to severe maternal clinical forms.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Placental Insufficiency , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious , Infant, Newborn , Female , Pregnancy , Male , Humans , COVID-19/pathology , SARS-CoV-2 , Pregnant Women , Placental Insufficiency/pathology , Heart Rate, Fetal , Placenta , Infectious Disease Transmission, VerticalABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is not known. COVIPREG is a prospective French multicenter study to assess the seroprevalence at the time of delivery and the maternal and neonatal impact of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. In order to study factors associated with poor outcomes after COVID-19 Infection during pregnancy and adapt the sample size of the study, a preliminary assessment of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG was planned after 500 inclusions in a one perinatal center of Paris area. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody response in pregnant women at the time of delivery during the COVID-19 pandemia. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational study at Cochin hospital (Level III maternity). Patients admitted for delivery were offered to participate to the study. Each patient participating to the study was tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies using a commercially available ELISA. RESULTS: Among the 529 patients included in the COVIPREG study between April 29 and June 26, 529 were assessed for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody response and 25 had a positive test, ie 4.7 % with a confidence interval at 95 % [3.0 %-6.9 %]). CONCLUSIONS: Four months after the beginning of the infection in Paris, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in pregnant women at the time of delivery is low. Studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy should take this information in account in order to adapt the sample size.