2023年 · 第05卷第02期

With the widespread transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the medical community has organized efforts to determine a series of clinical questions about the virus. Critical questions have also arisen in the field of maternal-fetal medicine and have received increasing attention, as physiological and immunologic changes in pregnancy might potentially increase the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and complications of the virus.¹

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a major threat to global health. The high mortality rate reported during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in panic among patients, including lactating mothers.^1,2,3The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in breastmilk raised great concerns regarding the possibility of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the virus.⁴According to several reports on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in breastmilk, some experts suggested that breastfeeding should be conducted with caution, while others recommended that, infants should be separated from their mother and breastfeeding should be discontinued.^5,6,7

The world is in the midst of a major health crisis as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread at an alarming rate and claim an ever-increasing number of lives. Some countries are experiencing their fifth or sixth waves of COVID-19 transmission, with no end to this situation in the foreseeable future.¹The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every segment of the population. The effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and adolescents as well as geriatric, child, and even mental health have been reported.^2,3However, there have been few studies of the impact on the health and wellbeing of the unborn fetus. While direct effects on abortion, preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes, preeclampsia, and fetal growth restriction have been described,⁴indirect effects on fetal health are less evident but far more disturbing and damaging.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has spread worldwide and threatened human’s health. With the passing of time, the epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 evolves and the knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 infection accumulates. To further improve the scientific and standardized diagnosis and treatment of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in China, the Chinese Society of Perinatal Medicine of Chinese Medical Association commissioned leading experts to develop the Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection under the guidance of the Maternal and Child Health Department of the National Health Commission. This recommendations includes the epidemiology, diagnosis, management, maternal care, medication treatment, care of birth and newborns, and psychological support associated with maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is hoped that the recommendations will effectively help the clinical management of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the acceptance of pregnant women with regards to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination during pregnancy and to identify any significant changes in their anxiety and knowledge on COVID-19 compared to our previous study.

This cross-sectional survey was performed in the antenatal clinics of United Christian Hospital and Tseung Kwan O Hospital of Hong Kong, China. Questionnaires were distributed to pregnant women for self-completion when attending follow-up from August to October 2021. Apart from basic demographic data, the questionnaire comprised of questions including knowledge on COVID-19 and its vaccines in pregnancy as well as attitudes and behaviors of pregnant women and their partners toward COVID-19. Continuous variables were analyzed by Student’s test and Levene’s test was used to confirm normal distribution and homogeneity of variance for continuous variables, whereas categorical variables were analyzed by the Chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. A P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

A total of 816 completed questionnaires were included for analysis. Pregnant women were less worried about COVID-19 in the current survey as compared to the last survey (393/816, 48.2% vs. 518/623, 83.1%, P<0.001). Fewer pregnant women believed that pregnancy were more susceptible to contract SARS-CoV-2 as compared to the last survey (265/816, 32.5% vs. 261/623, 41.9%, P<0.001). They have significant knowledge gap and concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. Nearly half of the participants believed that pregnant women cannot have COVID-19 vaccination (402/816, 49.3%) and it is unsafe to fetus (365/816, 44.7%). Around a third of women perceived that they were more prone to the side effects and complications of COVID-19 vaccines than the general population (312/816, 38.2%) and did not recognize that maternal COVID-19 vaccination could effect transferral of antibodies to the fetus to promote postnatal passive immunity (295/816, 36.2%). Most of them had not been vaccinated (715/816, 87.6%) and only (12/715) 1.7% of them would consider vaccination during pregnancy.

Despite the local and international recommendations for pregnant women to be vaccinated, the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy remained extremely low. Efforts should be made to effectively provide information about the safety and benefits of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. There is an urgent need to booster vaccination rates in pregnant women to avoid excessive adverse pregnancy outcomes related to COVID-19.

This study aimed to investigate the immune response of a pregnant woman who recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID_RS) by using single-cell transcriptomic profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and to analyze the properties of different immune cell subsets.

PBMCs were collected from the COVID_RS patient at 28 weeks of gestation, before a cesarean section. The PBMCs were then analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing. The transcriptional profiles of myeloid, T, and natural killer (NK) cell subsets were systematically analyzed and compared with those of healthy pregnant controls from a published single-cell RNA sequencing data set.

We identified major cell types such as T cells, B cells, NK cells, and myeloid cells in the PBMCs of our COVID_RS patient. The increase of myeloid and B cells and decrease of T cells and NK cells in the PBMCs in this patient were quite distinct compared with that in the control subjects. After reclustering and Augur analysis, we found that CD16 monocytes and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells were mostly affected within different myeloid, T, and NK cell subtypes in our COVID_RS patient. The proportion of CD16 monocytes in the total myeloid population was increased, and the frequency of MAIT cells in the total T and NK cells was significantly decreased in the COVID-RS patient. We also observed significant enrichment of gene sets related to antigen processing and presentation, T-cell activation, T-cell differentiation, and tumor necrosis factor superfamily cytokine production in CD16 monocytes, and enrichment of gene sets related to antigen processing and presentation, response to type II interferon, and response to virus in MAIT cells.

Our study provides a single-cell resolution atlas of the immune gene expression patterns in PBMCs from a COVID_RS patient. Our findings suggest that CD16-positive monocytes and MAIT cells likely play crucial roles in the maternal immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. These results contribute to a better understanding of the maternal immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and may have implications for the development of effective treatments and preventive strategies for the coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women.

This review aimed to compile scientific data on the distribution and prevalence of group B Streptococcus (GBS) serotypes isolated from pregnant women across 30 countries from 2010 to 2019.

This was a systematic review that addresses the distribution and prevalence of GBS in pregnant women. The search included studies published between January 2010 and December 2019 in PubMed, Virtual Health Library (BVS), ScienceDirect, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), and LILACS databases. We also surveyed relevant articles published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese between February and April 2020. Original articles, communication, short report, theses, and dissertations were included. The prevalence of GBS colonization, method for capsular serotyping, antimicrobial resistance, distribution and prevalence of serotypes were extracted from each study.

In all, 795 publications were identified. After applying the eligibility criteria, 48 articles were included for the final systematic analysis; most articles were from Asia and were published during the years 2014 to 2017. For the identification of serotypes, most studies used the polymerase chain reaction technique. There were records of all 10 GBS serotypes, namely, Ia, Ib, and II–IX, among the countries analyzed. GBS susceptibility and resistance to antibiotics were addressed in 37.5% of the publications analysed.

This review showed that GBS serotypes are distributed differently in the 30 analyzed countries, with serotypes Ia, Ib, and II to V being the most prevalent. Furthermore, our results highlighted the relationship of GBS with maternal colonization, implications for neonates, and antibiotic resistance.

Pregnancy is a physiological state that predisposes women to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, a disease that can cause adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. The severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease is known to vary by viral strain; however, evidence for the effects of this virus in pregnant women has yet to be fully elucidated. In this review, we describe maternal and perinatal outcomes, vaccination, and vertical transmission, among pregnant women infected with the different SARS-CoV-2 variants identified to date. We also summarize existing evidence for maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with specific information relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Our analysis showed that Omicron infection was associated with fewer severe maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes while the Delta variant was associated with worse pregnancy outcomes. Maternal deaths arising from COVID-19 were found to be rare (<1.0%), irrespective of whether the virus was a wild-type strain or a variant. Severe maternal morbidity was more frequent for the Delta variant (10.3%), followed by the Alpha (4.7%), wild-type (4.5%), and Omicron (2.9%) variants. The rates of stillbirth were 0.8%, 4.1%, 3.1%, and 2.3%, respectively, in pregnancies infected with the wild-type strain, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants, respectively. Preterm birth and admission to neonatal intensive care units were more common for cases with the Delta infection (19.0% and 18.62%, respectively), while risks were similar for those infected with the wild-type (14.7% and 11.2%, respectively), Alpha (14.9% and 13.1%), and Omicron variants (13.2% and 13.8%, respectively). As COVID-19 remains a global pandemic, and new SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to emerge, research relating to the specific impact of new variants on pregnant women needs to be expanded.

In the last few years, the introduction of cell-free DNA has rapidly altered prenatal screening regimens and is increasingly offered as the second- or, at times, even the first-tier screening test. Should an early anomaly scan also be part of an up-to-date screening policy? This paper reappraises the value of fetal first-trimester ultrasonography. The primary aims of the first-trimester scan are to establish gestational age based on the measurement of fetal crown-rump length, to detect multiple pregnancy and chorionicity, and to measure fetal nuchal translucency thickness as part of a combined screening test for chromosomal abnormalities. With recent advancements in ultrasound technology, there is compelling evidence that a majority of fetuses with major structural abnormalities and almost half of them without chromosomal abnormalities can be detected in the first trimester. We focused on the first-trimester screening of fetal major defects, especially including fetal congenital heart disease and cleft lip and palate by ultrasound markers and views. Moreover, it is critical to highlight that after a detailed anomaly scan in the first trimester without major structural anomalies and positive genetic tests, the residual chance of favorable outcome in fetuses with isolated increased nuchal translucency is relatively high. The discussion on the role of cell-free DNA in prenatal screening is still ongoing. Even in the event of it becoming a first-line screening test for aneuploidies, the importance of a first-trimester fetal scan, including assessment of markers for other anomalies, remains undisputed.

Thrombocytopenia is common (up to 12%) in pregnancy; thrombotic thrombocytopenia is a rare cause of thrombocytopenia; however, it is immediately life-threatening to both mother and fetus and requires immediate intervention. This is compounded by the need to act on a presumptive diagnosis with high level of suspicion given the relatively long laboratory confirmation time. A 31-year-old gravida 3, para 1 parturient at 26 weeks of gestation presented to outside hospital with recent onset of easy bruising and blurry vision. A blood count was drawn and showed a platelet count of 19,000/μL. She was transferred to our institution for management where an initial diagnosis of preeclampsia with severe features was made based on thrombocytopenia and fetal growth restriction (<1%). Platelet count nadired at 14,000/μL and a blood smear showed schistocytes, suggesting microangiopathic hemolysis, prompting discussion of urgent cesarean delivery and anesthesia consult. An urgent hematology consult led to presumptively diagnosing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and cesarean delivery was deferred after discussion with the patient and team. Plasma exchange and steroid therapy were started promptly, and her platelet count improved within 12 hours. Unfortunately, the patient experienced neonatal demise. Undetectable ADAMTS13 levels confirmed diagnosis of thrombotic thrombocytopenia. She was transitioned to rituximab, platelets recovered to baseline, and she continues to do well. Thrombotic thrombocytopenia is a rare, life-threatening cause of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy. Despite grim fetal prognosis, especially in early pregnancy, low threshold of suspicion, early anesthesia involvement, and multi-disciplinary approach can facilitate diagnosis and timely intervention. In our case, it was likely lifesaving.

Epignathus is an extremely rare congenital oropharyngeal teratoma. Here, we report a case of epignathus without intracranial extension in a fetus. The mass was first found by ultrasonography at 22 gestational weeks. Serial ultrasound examinations and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed that the fetus had neither central nervous system involvement nor abnormal nose or tooth. The baby was delivered at 37 weeks and six days of gestation via cesarean section set up for ex-utero intrapartum treatment. The postnatal pathologic examination confirmed the presence of mature tissues predominantly containing ectopic central nervous tissue, osseous tissue, and bronchial mucosal tissue. Most cases of epignathus are associated with malformation and death. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging prenatal assessments are very important to facilitate counseling and understand prognosis. In conclusion, the ex-utero intrapartum treatment procedure is a good approach to improve the survival of infants with epignathus.

Bartter syndrome is a group of autosomal recessive renal tubular disorders; it has two types of presentation: antenatal and classic. The antenatal type presents as severe unexplained polyhydramnios in the second trimester. This is due to fetal urinary losses of sodium, chloride, and potassium, leading to fetal polyuria. The classic type presents in the late neonatal or infancy stage, with dehydration, dyselectrolytemia, failure to thrive, and nephrocalcinosis. Antenatal scans are normal in such cases. Type I and II Bartter syndrome presents in the antenatal period, whereas type IV has a classic presentation. We describe an unusual case of type IVa Bartter syndrome presenting in the antenatal period, with severe polyhydramnios. The initial diagnosis was made based on amniotic fluid chloride levels and later confirmed by performing a genetic test. Genetic testing is important for confirming diagnosis and prognostication regarding the condition.