SARS-CoV-2 em Grávidas e Puérperas no Início da Transmissão Comunitária na Cidade de Maputo / SARS-CoV-2 in Pregnant and Postpartum Women at the Beginning of Transmission Community in Maputo City

A COVID-19 é causada por coronavírus descri to pela primeira vez em 2019, designado SARS- -CoV-2,1 e afectou até ao momento milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo, resultando em milhares de óbitos.2 O quadro patológico pode cursar com síndrome respiratória aguda grave. Nos casos sin tomáticos, os doentes apresentam geralmente febre, tosse, dispneia e cansaço;3 contudo, a infecção as sintomática ocorre em cerca de 87.9% dos infec tados.4 Indivíduos com doenças crónicas e idosos são mais susceptíveis a COVID-19.5 As grávidas são igualmente susceptíveis a contrair o SARS-CoV-2 devido as alterações fisiológicas do seu estado. As mesmas durante a infecção correm o potencial risco de evoluir com pneumonia,6 mesmo que em alguns casos cursem sem sintomas.7 Até Março de 2020 em Singapura, a análise de 55 gestantes infectadas com a COVID-19 e 46 recém-nascidos, não evidenciou transmissão vertical ou maior susceptibilidade de grávidas ao SARS-CoV-2.8 Mesmo assim, no início da pandemia cerca de 10% das grávidas infectadas tiveram insuficiência respiratória grave, e 5% neces sitaram de ventilação.

Hypertension in a resource-limited setting: Poor Outcomes on Short-term Follow-up in an Urban Hospital in Maputo, Mozambique.

Mozambique has low levels of detection, treatment, and control of hypertension. However, data on target organ damage and clinical outcomes are lacking. The authors aimed at characterizing the clinical profile, pattern of target organ damage, and short-term outcomes of patients referred to a first referral urban hospital in a low-income setting in Africa. We conducted a prospective descriptive cohort study from February 2016 to May 2017 in Maputo, Mozambique. Adult patients with systolic and diastolic blood pressure ≥180 mm Hg and/or ≥110 mm Hg, respectively, or any systolic blood pressure above 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure above 90 mm Hg in the presence of target organ damage (with or without antihypertensive treatment) were submitted to detailed physical examination, funduscopy, laboratory profile, electrocardiography, and echocardiography. Six months after the occurrence of complications (stroke, heart failure, and renal failure), hospital admission and death were assessed. Overall, 116 hypertensive patients were recruited (mean age 57.5 ± 12.8 years old; 111[95.7%] black; 81[70%] female) of which 79 had severe hypertension. The baseline mean values recorded for systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 192.3 ± 23.6 and 104.2 ± 15.2 mm Hg, respectively. Most patients (93; 80.2%) were on antihypertensive treatment. Patients' risk profile revealed dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes in 59(54.1%), 48(42.5%), and 23(19.8%), respectively. Target organ damage was found in 111 patients. The commonest being left atrial enlargement 91(84.5%), left ventricular hypertrophy 57(50.4%), hypertensive retinopathy 30(26.3%), and chronic kidney disease 27(23.3%). Major events during 6-month follow-up were hospitalizations in 10.3% and death in 8.6% of the patients. Worsening of target organ damage occurred in 10 patients: four stroke, two heart failure, and four renal damage. Patients with severe hypertension and target organ damage were young with high-risk profile, low hypertension control, and high occurrence of complications during short-term follow-up. Efforts to improve high blood pressure control are needed to reduce premature mortality in this highly endemic poor setting.