COVID-19 y embarazo: caso clínico de presentación crítica, inflamación placentaria y transmisión vertical fetal demostrada / COVID-19 and pregnancy: clinical case of critical presentation, placental inflammation and demonstrated fetal vertical transmission

ANTECEDENTES: La pandemia global de COVID-19 llega al continente americano en marzo del año 2020 y en menos de dos meses reúne a más de la mitad de los casos a nivel global. OBJETIVO: Caso clínico de una mujer embarazada con una presentación crítica de COVID-19 y embarazo a las 25 semanas de gestación, en el contexto del peak de la pandemia en Chile en el otoño del año 2020. CASO CLÍNICO: El 20 de junio de 2020, una mujer de 34 años, con 25 semanas de embarazo, es trasladada desde Hospital de San Bernardo a Clínica Las Condes en Santiago, Chile, con un cuadro de 10 días de evolución de COVID-19, que evoluciona a una situación crítica con insuficiencia respiratoria severa. Ingresa a unidad de cuidados intensivos para ventilación mecánica. Las imágenes de radiología simple y de tomografía axial computarizada de tórax demuestran una neumopatía bilateral con imágenes características opacidades en vidrio esmerilado, asociado a engrosamiento intersticial, imágenes descritas previamente como características para COVID-19. La paciente permanece en unidad de cuidados intensivos en ventilación mecánica por siete días, con evolución favorable posterior, mejoría del cuadro séptico y alta después de 22 días de hospitalización. El parto ocurre en forma espontánea a las 38 semanas, la madre y el recién nacido evolucionan en buen estado general. El examen histopatológico placentario demuestra compromiso inflamatorio vellositario y los exámenes de anticuerpos en sangre del recién nacido demuestran la presencia de anticuerpos del tipo IgG e IgM. Se trata de uno de los pocos casos demostrados reportados de transmisión transplacentaria vía sanguínea de SARS-CoV-2 de la madre al recién nacido.

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 pandemic reaches the American continent in March 2020 and in less than two months it brings together more than half of the cases globally.OBJECTIVE: The clinical case of a 25-week pregnant woman with a critical presentation of COVID-19 and pregnancy at 25 weeks of gestation, is presented in the context of the peak of the pandemic in Chile in the fall of 2020. CLINICAL CASE: On June 20, 2020, a 34-year-old woman, 25 weeks pregnant, is transferred from Hospital de San Bernardo to Clinica Las Condes in Santiago, Chile, with a ten-day evolution of a COVID-19 that evolves to critical with severe respiratory failure. She is admitted to the intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation. Chest computerized axial tomography images demonstrate bilateral pneumopathy with characteristic images of ground-glass opacities, associated with interstitial thickening, images previously described as characteristics for COVID-19. The patient remains in the intensive care unit on mechanical ventilation for seven days, with subsequent favorable evolution, improvement of the septic condition, and discharge after 22 days of hospitalization. Delivery occurs at 38 weeks, the mother and the newborn evolve in good general condition. The placental histopathological examination demonstrates villous inflammatory involvement, and the newborn's blood tests show the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies. It is one of the few reported cases of transplacental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from the mother to the newborn.

Diet and endothelial function

Endothelial dysfunction is one of the earliest events in atherogenesis. A consequence of endothelial damage is a lower availability of nitric oxide (NO), the most potent endogenous vasodilator. NO inhibits platelet aggregation, smooth muscle cell proliferation and adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells. Endothelial dysfunction is present in patients with cardiovascular disease and/or coronary risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, smoking or hyperhomocysteinemia. At present, soluble markers and high resolution ultrasound of the brachial artery, have provided simple tools for the study of endothelial function and the effects of several interventions. It has been demonstrated that dietary factors may induce significant changes on vascular reactivity. Nutrients, such as fish oil, antioxidants, L-arginine, folic acid and soy protein have shown an improvement in endothelial function that can mediate, at least partially, the cardioprotective effects of these substances. Attention has been focused on dietary patterns in populations with lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease. There is some evidence suggesting that Mediterranean diet characterized by high consumption of vegetables, fish, olive oil and moderate wine consumption may have a positive effect on endothelial function. These results give us evidence on the significant role of diet on endothelial function and its impact on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.