A study on Histopathological changes and neonatal outcomes in the placenta of covid-19 positive mothers: A prospective study

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT It has been estimated that are about 168 million lab confirmed COVID 19 cases worldwide as of 28th may, 2021. Due to the high prevalence of this disease, it is of utmost importance to study its effect on the vulnerable population of pregnant women. aim: Aim of the study are 1 the histopathological changes in placenta of COVID19 mothers. 2 To correlate the histopathological changes with the fetal outcome in COVID 19 positive mothers. MATERIALS & METHOD: Twenty five placentas of Covid 19 positive mothers were received in formalin with proper clinical history including age of the mother, gestational age, mode of delivery, complications during pregnancy and during labor, baby weight and APGAR score of the baby. The specimen were allowed to fix in neutral buffered formalin for a period of 48 hrs. The placentas were then grossly and histopathologically examined. RESULTS: Out of 25 placentas, some showed features of maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM), particularly villous infarct, villous agglutination and intervillous and perivillous fibrin deposits. Some showed fetal vascular malperfusion features like avascular villi, stem vessel obliteration were also present in a few of the cases. Out of the 25 pregnancies, 21 babies were delivered live with normal birth weight. There were 4 spontaneous abortions ranging from 14 - 22 weeks. CONCLUSION As the placenta acts as a bridge between the mother and the developing baby, any insult to the placenta in the form of maternal or fetal vascular malperfusion may result in an adverse perinatal outcome. © 2022. RED FLOWER PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD. All Rights Reserved.