Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although the risk for transplacental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is rare, placental infections with adverse functional consequences have been reported. This study aims to analyse histological placental findings in pregnancies complicated by SARS-CoV-2 infection and investigate its correlation with clinical symptoms and perinatal outcomes. We want to determine which pregnancies are at-risk to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes related to COVID-19 in the future.
METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal, multicentre, cohort study. All pregnant women presenting between April 2020 and March 2021 with a nasopharyngeal RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. Around delivery, maternal, foetal and placental PCR samples were collected. Placental pathology was correlated with clinical maternal characteristics of COVID-19.
RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were included, 33 singleton pregnancies (n = 33, 92%) and three twin pregnancies (n = 3, 8%). Twenty-four (62%) placentas showed at least one abnormality. Four placentas (4/39, 10%) showed placental staining positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 accompanied by a unique combination of diffuse, severe inflammatory placental changes with massive perivillous fibrin depositions, necrosis of syncytiotrophoblast, diffuse chronic intervillositis, and a specific, unprecedented CD20+ B-cell infiltration. This SARS-CoV-2 placental signature seems to correlate with foetal distress (75% vs. 15.6%, p = 0.007) but not with the severity of maternal COVID-19 disease.
CONCLUSION: We describe a unique placental signature in pregnant patients with COVID-19, which has not been reported in a historical cohort. We show that the foetal environment can be seriously compromised by disruption of placental function due to local, devastating SARS-CoV-2 infection. Maternal clinical symptoms did not predict the severity of the SARS-CoV-2-related placental signature, resulting in a lack of adequate identification of maternal criteria for pregnancies at risk. Close foetal monitoring and pregnancy termination in case of foetal distress can prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes due to COVID-19 related placental disease.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1670 |
| Journal | Viruses |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 23 Aug 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Conflicts of Interest: P.L.A. Fraaij and M.P.G. Koopmans are funded through the EU COVID-19 grant RECOVER 101003589. “The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results”. The other authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.
Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by Strong Babies. This funding source had no involvement in data collection, analysis, interpretation, patient recruitment, or writing or submission of this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Research programs
- EMC MM-04-54-08-A
- EMC MM-03-54-04-A
