Objective: To determine the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of women who recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that developed in early pregnancy.
Methods: This case series analyzed five pregnant women (26-33 years) whom recovered from COVID-19 which were developed in early pregnancy (6-27 weeks) and admitted at the Wuhan Union Hospital from January 15, 2020 to April 30, 2020. The clinical manifestation, laboratory examinations, treatment, pregnancy outcomes, maternal and neonatal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throat swab reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test results, and SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results in neonates were reviewed. The placental pathology, placental angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 expression were studied by hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining, SARS-CoV-2 presence was examined by QT-PCR. We also followed up the infants at 3-6 months.
Results: Three pregnant women were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early pregnancy (Cases 1-3), and two were serum immunoglobulin G positive asymptomatic cases (Cases 4 and 5). Cases 1-3 showed complete recovery after severe COVID-19. Case 3 was infected at 6 weeks of gestation during the first trimester and had induced medical abortion at 12 weeks of gestation. All neonates had no pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2 mRNA reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and serum immunoglobulin M were negative, and immunoglobulin G were positive. All placental samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the nucleic acid test. Placental pathology showed chronic ischemia changes. ACE-2 expressed in both placenta and decidua. The follow-up showed that the infants were healthy and asymptomatic at 3-6 months.
Conclusion: No adverse outcomes was observed in our case series. However, systemic inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause placental injury. At the time of delivery after recovery from COVID-19, no SARS-CoV-2 positive results was found in the placenta in this case series.
Human coronavirus (HCoV) causes potentially fatal respiratory disease. Pregnancy is a physiological state that predisposes women to viral infection. In this review, we aim to present advances in the pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment in HCoV in pregnancy. We retrieved information from the Pubmed database up to June 2020, using various search terms and relevant words, including coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, 2019 coronavirus disease, and pregnancy. Both basic and clinical studies were selected. We found no evidence that pregnant women are more susceptible to HCoV infection or that those with HCoV infection are more prone to developing severe pneumonia. There is also no confirmed evidence of vertical mother-to-child transmission of HcoV infection during maternal HCoV infection. Those diagnosed with infection should be promptly admitted to a negative-pressure isolation ward, preferably in a designated hospital with adequate facilities and multi-disciplinary expertise to manage critically ill obstetric patients. Antiviral treatment has been routinely used to treat pregnant women with HCoV infection. The timing and mode of delivery should be individualized, depending mainly on the clinical status of the patient, gestational age, and fetal condition. Early cord clamping and temporary separation of the newborn for at least 2 weeks is recommended. All medical staff caring for patients with HCoV infection should use personal protective equipment. This review highlights the advances in pathogenesis, maternal-fetal outcome, maternal-fetal transmission, diagnosis and treatment in HCoV including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy.