CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN NEWBORNS BORN TO MOTHERS WHO HAD A NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY

Abstract

Cardiac manifestations in the acute phase and complications of COVID-19 in children, especially newborns, have not been sufficiently studied as yet. The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of damage to the cardiovascular system (CVS) in newborns from mothers who had a new coronavirus infection at different stages of pregnancy and who were infected after birth. Materials and methods used: a single-center observational comparative study with elements of retrospective analysis. The 3 groups of full-term newborns of 37 each were formed as follows: the main group 1 (A) of newborns from mothers who had a laboratory-confirmed new coronavirus infection in the 1st to 2nd trimesters of pregnancy; the comparison group 2 (B) of newborns with a laboratory-confirmed new coronavirus infection from mothers who had COVID-19 in the peripartum period; and the control group 3 (C) of practically healthy newborns. The frequency of various types of CVS lesions (myocarditis, rhythm and conduction disorders, perinatal CVS lesions) as well as the frequency of occurrence of signs of electrophysiological myocardial instability, hemodynamic disorders and increased levels of cardiac-specific enzymes were assessed. Results: newborns from mothers who suffered a new coronavirus infection during pregnancy are more likely than newborns from physiologically healthy pregnancy and childbirth to develop cardiac problems (heart failure (p=0.025), cardiac arrhythmias (p<0.001), specified congenital anomalies of the cardiac septum (p1-3<0.001), other specified congenital heart anomalies (p1-3=0.032) and other cardiovascular disorders that arose in the perinatal period (p<0.001)), in particular, maladaptive disorders of the cardiovascular system with signs of electrical instability of the myocardium, dilation of the heart cavities and increased levels of cardiac-specific enzymes, which required the exclusion of myocarditis. Conclusion: the identified changes in the cardiovascular system dictate the need for monitoring of newborns from mothers with COVID-19 with dynamic CVS assessment.