Ultrasound indications for maternal STORCH testing in pregnancy.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Fetal abnormalities found on ultrasonography lead to a variety of diagnostic procedures, including a panel of serologies to detect possible maternal STORCH infections encompassing syphilis, Toxoplasma gondii, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, and others (human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C, parvovirus B19, enterovirus, varicella zoster, and Leptospira interrogans). The value of indiscriminate testing for infections upon the detection of fetal ultrasound abnormalities has been questioned. The aim of this study was to review the ultrasonographic abnormalities leading to maternal STORCH panels at the obstetrics department of a university hospital. METHODS: Laboratory results of all maternal STORCH tests requested after the detection of ultrasonographic abnormalities during a 5-year period (2008-2012) were analysed. The main ultrasound findings possibly caused by congenital infection were noted, and the outcomes of confirmed maternal and fetal infections were studied. RESULTS: In our study period, 392 maternal STORCH tests were performed because of fetal ultrasound abnormalities. The most common findings leading to STORCH testing were intrauterine growth restriction (30.4%) including microcephaly (1.5%), polyhydramnios (14.8%), and intrauterine fetal demise (13.3%). Maternal STORCH infections were found in 3.4% of growth-restricted fetuses, 5.2% of polyhydramnios, and 1.9% of intrauterine fetal demise. The leading aetiologies were cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19. All seven congenital infections displayed multiple ultrasonographic abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonographic findings associated with fetal infection are neither sensitive nor specific. Testing for STORCH infections should take into account exposure history, clinical signs and symptoms, obstetric history, and fetal ultrasound findings, but with special attention paid to cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19.

A Previous Miscarriage and a Previous Successful Pregnancy Have a Different Impact on HLA Antibody Formation during a Subsequent Successful Pregnancy.

Inherited paternal HLA antigens from the semi-allogeneic fetus may trigger maternal immune responses during pregnancy, leading to the production of child-specific HLA antibodies. The prevalence of these HLA antibodies increases with the number of successful pregnancies. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a single prior miscarriage on HLA antibody formation during a subsequent successful pregnancy. Women with a successful pregnancy with one or more prior miscarriages (n = 229) and women with a successful pregnancy without a prior miscarriage (n = 58), and their children were HLA typed. HLA antibody analyses were performed in these women to identify whether HLA antibodies were formed against mismatched HLA class-I antigens of the last child. The percentage of immunogenic antigens was significantly lower after a single successful pregnancy that was preceded by a single miscarriage (n = 18 women) compared to a successful pregnancy that was preceded by a first successful pregnancy (n = 62 women). Thus, our data suggest that a previous miscarriage has a different impact on child-specific HLA antibody formation during a subsequent successful pregnancy than a previous successful pregnancy. The lower immunogenicity in these women cannot be explained by reduced numbers of immunogenic B-cell and T-cell epitopes. In conclusion, our observations indicate that increasing gravidity is not related to an increased prevalence of HLA antibodies in a single successful pregnancy that was preceded by a single prior miscarriage.