Epidemiology and maternal prognosis of hypertension disorders of pregnancy in French Guiana.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are responsible for high maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. OBJECTIVE: Our primary objective was to report the epidemiological and clinical features of HDP in Cayenne General Hospital. Our secondary objectives were to search for factors associated to preeclampsia (PE) and to severe PE in patients with HDP. METHODS: Our study was observational and non-interventional. It was conducted over 4-month period (January to April 2019) in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit of the Cayenne General Hospital. We included all pregnant women after 20 weeks of gestation (WG), who gave birth and who presented HDP and/or PE. RESULTS: During the study period 1243 patients gave birth in our unit. Among them, 156 were diagnosed with HDP (12.6%). The median age was 33 years (IQR 28 - 38 years). The most frequent medical histories were diabetes (27.5%) and chronic hypertension (23.5%). The socioeconomic status was low in 31% of patients. Ninety-four patients (61.4%) developed PE with a severe form in 80.9% of cases. HELLP syndrome was diagnosed in 6.5% and nephropathy in 3.3% of cases. Delivery was by cesarean in 49.7% of cases. The median gestational age at delivery was 37 WG (IQR: 35-39). Multivariate analysis showed no independent factors associated with the occurrence of PE or severe PE in patients with HDP. CONCLUSION: Our study shows a high prevalence of PE in patients with HDP. Hospitalization and repeated clinical evaluation are needed to screen for women exposed to develop PE or severe PE.

Pregnancy Outcomes after ZIKV Infection in French Territories in the Americas.

BACKGROUND: The risk of congenital neurologic defects related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has ranged from 6 to 42% in various reports. The aim of this study was to estimate this risk among pregnant women with symptomatic ZIKV infection in French territories in the Americas. METHODS: From March 2016 through November 2016, we enrolled in this prospective cohort study pregnant women with symptomatic ZIKV infection that was confirmed by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assay. The analysis included all data collected up to April 27, 2017, the date of the last delivery in the cohort. RESULTS: Among the 555 fetuses and infants in the 546 pregnancies included in the analysis, 28 (5.0%) were not carried to term or were stillborn, and 527 were born alive. Neurologic and ocular defects possibly associated with ZIKV infection were seen in 39 fetuses and infants (7.0%; 95% confidence interval, 5.0 to 9.5); of these, 10 were not carried to term because of termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, 1 was stillborn, and 28 were live-born. Microcephaly (defined as head circumference more than 2 SD below the mean for sex and gestational age) was detected in 32 fetuses and infants (5.8%), of whom 9 (1.6%) had severe microcephaly (more than 3 SD below the mean). Neurologic and ocular defects were more common when ZIKV infection occurred during the first trimester (24 of 189 fetuses and infants [12.7%]) than when it occurred during the second trimester (9 of 252 [3.6%]) or third trimester (6 of 114 [5.3%]) (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among pregnant women with symptomatic, PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection, birth defects possibly associated with ZIKV infection were present in 7% of fetuses and infants. Defects occurred more frequently in fetuses and infants whose mothers had been infected early in pregnancy. Longer-term follow-up of infants is required to assess any manifestations not detected at birth. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02916732 .).