Maternal outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 severity among pregnant women.

Pregnant women may be at higher risk of severe complications associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which may lead to obstetrical complications. We performed a case control study comparing pregnant women with severe coronavirus disease 19 (cases) to pregnant women with a milder form (controls) enrolled in the COVI-Preg international registry cohort between March 24 and July 26, 2020. Risk factors for severity, obstetrical and immediate neonatal outcomes were assessed. A total of 926 pregnant women with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 were included, among which 92 (9.9%) presented with severe COVID-19 disease. Risk factors for severe maternal outcomes were pulmonary comorbidities [aOR 4.3, 95% CI 1.9-9.5], hypertensive disorders [aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.0] and diabetes [aOR2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5]. Pregnant women with severe maternal outcomes were at higher risk of caesarean section [70.7% (n = 53/75)], preterm delivery [62.7% (n = 32/51)] and newborns requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit [41.3% (n = 31/75)]. In this study, several risk factors for developing severe complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women were identified including pulmonary comorbidities, hypertensive disorders and diabetes. Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes appear to be influenced by the severity of maternal disease

Pregnancy, delivery and neonatal outcomes in women with a cerebrovascular-accident history prior to delivery - Evaluation of a population database

Objective: Cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) in childbearing-age women are rare. We aimed to evaluate the association between CVA events prior to delivery and obstetrical and neonatal outcomes. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP–NIS) database. All pregnant women who delivered or had a maternal death in the US from 2004 to 2014 were included in the study. We performed a comparison between women with an ICD-9 diagnosis of CVA before the delivery admission and those without. Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: In total, 9,096,788 women fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Among them, 695 women (7.6 per 100,000) were diagnosed with a CVA before delivery. Women with a history of CVA, compared to those without, were more likely to be Black, older than 35 years of age, and suffer from obesity, chronic hypertension, pregestational diabetes, and thyroid disease. Patients with a prior CVA, compared to those without, had higher rates of pregnancy-induced hypertension (aOR 6.41, 95% CI 5.03–8.39, p < 0.001), preeclampsia (aOR 7.65, 95% CI 6.03–9.71, p < 0.001), and eclampsia (aOR 171.56, 95% CI 124.63–236.15, p < 0.001). Additionally, they had higher rates of preterm delivery (aOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.33–2.22,p = 0.003), cesarean section (aOR 2.69, 95% CI 2.15–3.37, p < 0.001), and maternal complications such as a peripartum hysterectomy (aOR 11.62, 95% CI 5.77–23.41, p < 0.001), postpartum hemorrhage (aOR 3.39, 95 % CI 2.52–4.54, p < 0.001), disseminated intravascular coagulation (aOR 16.32, 95% CI 11.33–23.52, p < 0.001), venous thromboembolism (aOR 45.08, 95% CI 27.17–74.8, p < 0.001), and maternal death (aOR 486.11, 95% CI 307.26–769.07, p < 0.001). Regarding neonatal outcomes, patients with a prior CVA, compared to those without, had a higher rate of intrauterine fetal demise and congenital anomalies. Conclusion: Women with a CVA event before delivery have a significantly higher incidence of maternal complications, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and neonatal complications, such as intrauterine fetal demise and congenital anomalies. Rates of maternal death were dramatically increased, and this association requires further evaluation

Risk factors for relaparotomy after a cesarean delivery: a case-control study

Abstract Background Relaparotomy following a cesarean delivery (CD) is an infrequent complication, with inconsistency regarding risk factors and indications for its occurrence. We therefore aimed to determine risk factors and indications for a relaparotomy following a CD at a single large tertiary center. Methods A retrospective case-control single-center study (2013–2023). We identified all women who had a relaparotomy up to six weeks following a CD (study group). Maternal characteristics, obstetrical and surgical data were compared to a control group in a 1:2 ratio. Controls were women with a CD before and immediately after each case in the study group, who did not undergo a relaparotomy. Included were CDs occurring after 24 gestational weeks. CD performed at different centers and indications for repeat surgery unrelated to the primary surgery (e.g., appendicitis) were excluded. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders. Results During the study period, 131,268 women delivered at our institution. Of them, 28,280 (21.5%) had a CD, and 130 patients (0.46%) underwent a relaparotomy. Relaparotomies following a CD occurred during the first 24 h, the first week, and beyond the first week, in 59.2%, 33.1%, and 7.7% of cases, respectively. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, relaparotomy was significantly associated with Mullerian anomalies (aOR 3.33, 95%CI 1.08–10.24, p = 0.036); uterine fibroids (aOR 3.17, 95%CI 1.11–9.05,p = 0.031); multiple pregnancy (aOR 4.1, 95%CI 1.43–11.79,p = 0.009); hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (aOR 3.46, 95%CI 1.29–9.3,p = 0.014); CD during the second stage of labor (aOR 2.54, 95%CI 1.15–5.88, p = 0.029); complications during CD (aOR 1.62, 95%CI 1.09–3.21,p = 0.045); and excessive bleeding during CD or implementation of bleeding control measures (use of tranexamic acid, a hemostatic agent, or a surgical drain) (aOR 2.23, 95%CI 1.29–4.12,p = 0.012). Indications for relaparotomy differed depending on the time elapsed from the CD, with suspected intra-abdominal bleeding (36.1%) emerging as the primary indication within the initial 24 h. Conclusion We detected several pregnancy, intrapartum, and intra-operative risk factors for the need for relaparotomy following a CD. Practitioners may utilize these findings to proactively identify women at risk, thereby potentially reducing their associated morbidity

Maternal cardiovascular hemodynamics in normotensive versus preeclamptic pregnancies: a prospective longitudinal study using a noninvasive cardiac system (NICaS™)

Abstract Background Preeclampsia is among the most common medical complications of pregnancy. The clinical utility of invasive hemodynamic monitoring in preeclampsia (e.g., Swan-Ganz catheter) is controversial. Thoracic impedance cardiography (TIC) and Doppler echocardiography are noninvasive techniques but they both have important limitations. NICaS™ (NI Medical, PetachTikva, Israel) is a noninvasive cardiac system for determining cardiac output (CO) that utilizes regional impedance cardiography (RIC) by noninvasively measuring the impedance signal in the periphery. It outperformed any other impedance cardiographic technology and was twice as accurate as TIC. Methods We used the NICaS™ system to compare the hemodynamic parameters of women with severe preeclampsia (PET group, n = 17) to a cohort of healthy normotensive pregnant women with a singleton pregnancy at term (control group, n = 62) (1/2015–6/2015). Heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), CO, total peripheral resistance (TPR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured 15–30 min before CS initiation, immediately after administering spinal anesthesia, immediately after delivery of the fetus and placenta, at the abdominal fascia closure and within 24–36 and 48–72 h postpartum. Results The COs before and during the CS were significantly higher in the control group compared to the PET group (P < .05), but reached equivalent values within 24–36 h postpartum. CO peaked at delivery of the newborn and the placenta and started to decline afterwards in both groups. The MAP and TPR values were significantly higher in the PET group at all points of assessment except at 48–72 h postpartum when it was still significantly higher for MAP while the TPR only exhibited a higher trend but not statistically significant. The NICaS™ device noninvasively demonstrated low CO and high TPR profiles in the PET group compared to controls. Conclusions The immediate postpartum period is accompanied by the most dramatic hemodynamic changes and fluid shifts, during which the parturient should be closely monitored. The NICaS™ device may help the clinician to customize the most optimal management for individual parturients. Our findings require validation by further studies on larger samples

Additional file 1 of Risk factors for relaparotomy after a cesarean delivery: a case-control study

Supplementary Material