Prevalence and Obstetric Management Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Peripartum SARS-CoV-2-Positive Women - an Analysis of the CRONOS Registry Data.

The analysis of CRONOS data for this article presents the infection prevalence among parturients and subsequent changes in obstetric management over time in Germany. 2,184 women with peripartum SARS-CoV-2 infection (<14d before birth) were included. Monthly period prevalence was calculated using the number of affected women on the CRONOS registry relative to total monthly births in each hospital from March 2020 to May 2022 and compared to RKI data. Trends related to changes in obstetric management were calculated based on severity of illness. By June 2021, the obstetric population shows a discretely higher infection prevalence compared to the general population, falling below the RKI reported prevalence by October 2021. The overall rate of iatrogenic deliveries remains unchanged over time (p-value for trend=0.779). During wave 1 to 4, deliveries due to SARS-CoV-2 infection rose among moderately to severely ill women (p-value for trend 0.0000) and was increased compared to moderately ill women (p=0.001). We showed that comprehensive screening provides timely information on infection prevalence. Recruitment fatigue caused by higher clinician workload due to increased admissions and more cases with severe illness probably caused reduced prevalence reporting. Changes in obstetric management were related to COVID-19 symptom severity. A comprehensive national perinatal registry is needed to examine other areas of perinatal care in Germany.

Post-COVID in women after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy - a pilot study with follow-up data from the COVID-19-related Obstetric and Neonatal Outcome Study (CRONOS).

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and adverse pregnancy outcomes; data on maternal long-term outcome is scarce. We analyzed long-term follow-ups on women who experienced a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy to evaluate post-COVID symptoms, particularly fatigue, and their association with quality of life (QoL). METHODS: 773 women who enrolled in the CRONOS registry between April 2020 and August 2021 were contacted for follow-up from December 2022 to April 2023. Data was gathered through a web-based questionnaire. Subsequently, study coordinators matched the follow-up data with the existing CRONOS data. RESULTS: 110/773 (14%) women provided data. 20.9% experienced only acute symptoms during their SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, while 2.7% women experienced symptoms lasting longer than 4 weeks (long COVID). Symptoms lasting longer than 12 weeks (post-COVID) were reported by 63.6% women and occurred more often after severe COVID-19. Fatigue was the most frequently reported symptom (88%), with 55% of women still experiencing it more than one year after initial infection. 76% of women rated their QoL as "good" or "very good". Women experiencing post-COVID reported a significantly lower QoL. CONCLUSION: This is the first German long-term data on women after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, showing a high rate of post-COVID, a persistence of fatigue, and the impact on QoL. Continuous monitoring of pregnant women with COVID-19 is needed to develop comprehensive management strategies.

Breastfeeding Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: Data from the CRONOS Registry.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease are thought to have an impact on breastfeeding rate - besides other known peripartal issues. Data of the national CRONOS registry regarding breastfeeding behavior in 6,746 women was analyzed regarding the time window between maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection and time of delivery. In addition, other influencing factors like the predominant viral variant, maternal disease severity, and gestational age at delivery were taken into account. Our data suggest that within the variables analyzed, in the case of acute maternal infection (<14 days before birth), breastfeeding behavior improved with increasing gestational age at birth (p<0.0001), with less severe maternal illness (p<0.0001) and as the pandemic progressed with less virulent viral variants (p=0.01). When adjusting for COVID-19-associated and non-associated factors, rooming-in remains the most important factor positively influencing breastfeeding behavior. With regards to the benefits for mother and infants from breastfeeding, a separation of mother and child even in case of infectious settings should be avoided.

[Pruritus in pregnancy: consider the intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy]. / Juckreiz, das Leitsymptom der Schwangerschaftscholestase.

In the case of generalized pruritus in pregnancy, dermatological diseases are often considered primarily and the patient is treated topically. In any case, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) should be clarified as a potentially child- and pregnancy-threatening disease. The leading symptoms are pruritus, especially on the palms and feet, and laboratory elevated bile acids (GS) and transaminases. Feared perinatal complications include prematurity, green/meconium-containing amniotic fluid, respiratory distress syndrome, or even intrauterine fetal death.

Case Report: Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome-a rare cause of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.

Introduction: Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a life-threatening condition characterized by hypoxemia due to elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. PPHN commonly arises secondary to various underlying conditions, including infection, meconium aspiration, and respiratory distress syndrome. Management includes pulmonary vasodilators, mechanical ventilation, oxygen supplementation, vasopressors, and volume replacement. Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome (SWS), a rare genetic disorder characterized by bone dysplasia, respiratory distress, hyperthermia, and swallowing difficulties, may present with pulmonary hypertension, indicating a poor prognosis. Case description: A term female neonate presented with secondary respiratory failure and severe PPHN of unknown etiology on the second day of life, necessitating intubation. Clinical findings included facial dysmorphia, camptodactyly, skeletal anomalies, and generalized muscular hypotonia. High-frequency oscillation ventilation and surfactant administration yielded marginal improvement. On the third day of life, a severe pulmonary hypertensive crisis necessitated inhaled and systemic pulmonary vasodilators along with volume and catecholamine therapy. Whole exome sequencing revealed a homozygous mutation in the leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) gene, consistent with Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome. Discussion/conclusion: The case underscores the importance of considering and prompting evaluation of rare genetic causes in the differential diagnosis of PPHN, especially when other abnormalities are present and conventional therapies prove inadequate. Therapeutic strategies must account for the different pathophysiology of primary PPHN including vascular remodeling, as seen in SWS, which may not respond to pulmonary vasodilators typically employed in secondary PPHN due to vasoconstriction. In this case, the patient responded well to treatment for primary PPHN, but the use of high-frequency oscillation ventilation and surfactant was not helpful.

Diagnostic accuracy of an interdisciplinary tertiary center evaluation in children referred for suspected congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract on fetal ultrasound - a retrospective outcome analysis.

BACKGROUND: Fetal ultrasound organ screening has become a standard of care in most high-income countries. This has resulted in increased detection of congenital abnormalities, which may lead to major uncertainty and anxiety in expectant parents, even though many of them are of minor relevance. In order to optimize prenatal counselling, we introduced an interdisciplinary approach for all pregnant women referred to our center by private obstetricians for a co-assessment of suspected relevant fetal abnormalities of the kidney or urinary tract, involving both experienced prenatal ultrasound specialists and a pediatric nephrologist or urologist. METHODS: In a retrospective analysis, we evaluated reports of intrauterine evaluation and postnatal follow-up in order to assess accuracy of explicit intrauterine diagnoses and outcome of hydronephroses according to their severity in this setting. RESULTS: A total of 175 fetuses were examined between 2012 and 2019 and followed postnatally at our Pediatric Nephrology or Urology Department. There was a high concordance (85.9%) between explicit intrauterine and final diagnoses. Resolution rate of hydronephrosis was higher in patients with intrauterine low-grade than high-grade hydronephrosis (61.8% versus 11.9%). An etiological diagnosis was found in 62.5%, 52.0%, and 11.1% of patients with intrauterine bilateral high-grade, unilateral high-grade, and unilateral high-grade with contralateral low-grade hydronephrosis, respectively, but in none of the patients with intrauterine low-grade hydronephrosis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study demonstrate that, through interdisciplinary teamwork, intrauterine assessment of the fetal kidneys and urinary tract is highly accurate and allows a good discrimination between relevant and transient/physiological hydronephroses. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.