SARS-CoV-2 placentitis and severe pregnancy outcome after maternal infection: A Danish case series.

INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy may cause viral inflammation of the placenta, resulting in fetal demise even without fetal or newborn infection. The impact of timing of the infection and the mechanisms that cause fetal morbidity and mortality are not well understood. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To describe placental pathology from women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, a SARS-CoV-2 immunohistochemistry-positive placenta and late miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or medically indicated birth due to fetal distress. RESULTS: The triad of trophoblastic necrosis, inflammatory intervillous infiltrates, and increased perivillous fibrinoid deposition was present in all 17 placentas; the pregnancies resulted in eight stillbirths, two late miscarriages (19 and 21 weeks' gestation), and seven liveborn children, two of which died shortly after delivery. The severity of maternal COVID-19 was not reflected by the extent of the placental lesions. In only one case, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in lung tissue samples from the fetus. The majority events (miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal distress resulting in indicated birth, or livebirth, but neonatal death) happened shortly after maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed. Seven of eight sequenced cases were infected with the Delta (B.1.617.2) virus strain. CONCLUSION: We consolidate findings from previous case series describing extensive SARS-CoV-2 placentitis and placental insufficiency leading to fetal hypoxia. We found sparse evidence to support the notion that SARS-CoV-2 virus had infected the fetus or newborn.

Changing incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries-A result of formal prevention programs?

INTRODUCTION: Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) are serious complications to vaginal delivery causing anal incontinence in 50% of the women in the long term. In Norway, the incidence of OASIS has been significantly reduced from 4%-5% to 1%-2% after implementation of prevention programs focusing on perineal protection. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether implementation of formal prevention programs was associated with a reduced incidence of OASIS over time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a historical cohort study, evaluating incidence, change of incidence and risk factors of OASIS during the years 2011-2015 at the four delivery departments in the Capital Region of Denmark. Two of the four departments implemented formal prevention programs in 2012-2013. We performed trend tests and uni- and multivariable analyses, adjusting for important risk factors and calculating interactions between risk factors. RESULTS: There were 75 173 vaginal deliveries during the study period; of those, 2670 (3.6%) were complicated by OASIS. The incidence of OASIS decreased during the study period from 4.3% (n = 636) in 2011 to 2.6% (n = 399) in 2015. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of OASIS at both the departments with formal prevention programs and those without. After adjustment for other important risk factors of OASIS, we found no significant difference in the risk reduction between departments with and without formal prevention programs. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the general focus on prevention of OASIS in Denmark was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of OASIS, but implementation of formal prevention programs did not lead to a further reduction. It is possible that more rigorous interventions at the hospitals with formal prevention programs could have resulted in a significant difference in incidence of OASIS.

Episiotomy in vacuum-assisted delivery affects the risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASIS) is increased in vacuum-assisted delivery. However, it remains unclear whether episiotomy may protect against OASIS in this type of delivery. The objective of this study was to assess whether mediolateral or lateral episiotomy affects the risk of OASIS in vacuum-assisted delivery among primiparous women. Data were found searching The PubMed, Cochrane library and Embase databases electronically. Studies investigating the risk of OASIS in vacuum-assisted delivery with and without the use of mediolateral or lateral episiotomy were considered for inclusion. Of the 452 studies found, 15 observational studies were included in this meta-analysis. All authors assessed risk of bias of the included studies using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) quality score. According to this meta-analysis, mediolateral or lateral episiotomy significantly reduced the risk of OASIS in vacuum-assisted deliveries in primiparous women (OR 0.53 (95% CI 0.37-0.77)). Numbers needed to treat (NNT) was 18.3 (95% CI 17.7-18.9). The protective effect of episiotomy seemed most pronounced when performed in more than 75% of vacuum-assisted deliveries (OR 0.37 (95% CI 0.15-0.92)). In conclusion, this meta-analysis showed that mediolateral or lateral episiotomy was protective against OASIS and may be considered in vacuum-assisted delivery in primiparous women. Randomized controlled trials to further investigate this finding are warranted.