Is mid-gestational uterine artery Doppler still useful in a setting with routine first-trimester pre-eclampsia screening? A cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether routine mid-gestational uterine artery Doppler (UtAD) modifies the risk for preterm pre-eclampsia after first-trimester combined pre-eclampsia screening. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: London Tertiary Hospital. POPULATION: A cohort of 7793 women with singleton pregnancies, first-trimester pre-eclampsia screening using the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) algorithm and UtAD pulsatility index (PI) assessment at the mid-gestation ultrasound. METHODS: Pregnancies were divided into four groups: high risk in both trimesters (H1 H2 ), high risk in the first but not in the second trimester (H1 L2 ), low risk in the first but high risk in the second trimester (L1 H2 ) and low risk in both trimesters (L1 L2 ). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Small for gestational age (SGA), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and stillbirth. RESULTS: In this cohort, 600 (7.7%) and 620 (7.9%) women were designated as being at high risk in the first and second trimesters, respectively. Preterm pre-eclampsia was more prevalent in the H1 L2 group (4.5%) than in women considered at low risk in the first trimester (0.4%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of preterm pre-eclampsia in the L1 H2 group (3.3%) was significantly lower than that in women considered at high risk in the first trimester (7.0%, p = 0.0076), and was higher than that observed in the L1 L2 group (0.2%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of SGA and term HDP followed similar trends. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-eclampsia risk after first-trimester FMF pre-eclampsia screening may be stratified through mid-gestational routine UtAD assessment. Pregnancy care should not be de-escalated for low mid-gestational UtAD resistance in women classified as being at high risk in the first trimester. The escalation of care may be justified in women at low risk but with high mid-gestational UtAD resistance.

Frequency of positive antiphospholipid antibodies in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection and impact on pregnancy outcome: A single-center prospective study on 151 pregnancies.

Background: At the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was a lack of information about the infection's impact on pregnancy and capability to induce de novo autoantibodies. It soon became clear that thrombosis was a manifestation of COVID-19, therefore the possible contribution of de novo antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) raised research interest. We aimed at screening SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnant patients for aPL. Methods: The study included consecutive pregnant women who were hospitalized in our Obstetric Department between March 2020 and July 2021 for either a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection or for other reasons (obstetric complications, labour, delivery) and found positive at the admission nasopharyngeal swab. All these women underwent the search for aPL by means of Lupus Anticoagulant (LA), IgG/IgM anti-cardiolipin (aCL), IgG/IgM anti-beta2glycoprotein I (aB2GPI). Data about comorbidities, obstetric and neonatal complications were collected. Results: 151 women were included. Sixteen (11%) were positive for aPL, mostly at low titre. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 20 women (5 with positive aPL) and 5 required ICU admission (2 with positive aPL). Obstetric complications occurred in 10/16 (63%) aPL positive and in 36/135 (27%) negative patients. The occurrence of HELLP syndrome and preeclampsia was significantly associated with positive aPL (p=0,004). One case of maternal thrombosis occurred in an aPL negative woman. aPL positivity was checked after at least 12 weeks in 7/16 women (44%): 3 had become negative; 2 were still positive (1 IgG aB2GPI + IgG aCL; 1 IgM aB2GPI); 1 remained positive for IgG aCL but became negative for aB2GPI; 1 became negative for LA but displayed a new positivity for IgG aCL at high titre. Conclusions: The frequency of positive aPL in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection was low in our cohort and similar to the one described in the general obstetric population. aPL mostly presented as single positive, low titre, transient antibodies. The rate of obstetric complications was higher in aPL positive women as compared to negative ones, particularly hypertensive disorders. Causality cannot be excluded; however, other risk factors, including a full-blown picture of COVID-19, may have elicited the pathogenic potential of aPL and contributed themselves to the development of complications.

The Burden of Placental Histopathology in Stillbirths Associated With Maternal Obesity.

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is an increasing health problem that has become a common medical disorder among women of childbearing age, representing worldwide a risk factor for stillbirth. The aim of the study is to evaluate the association between placental histopathologic findings and obesity in stillbirth. METHODS: Placentas were analyzed according to the Amsterdam consensus statement. Histologic findings in stillbirth from obese and lean mothers were analyzed and compared with those observed in liveborn controls. RESULTS: Stillbirth in obese mothers displayed placental pathology in all gestational ages, mostly at term of pregnancy. The most observed placental lesions were those consistent with maternal vascular malperfusion of the placental bed. Decidual arteriopathy and placental infarcts appeared specifically associated with maternal obesity. Moreover, obese women with stillbirth showed the highest cumulative number of placental lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the significant association between stillbirth, maternal obesity, and placental histopathologic findings, health care providers should be aware about the importance of placental examination in obese women, especially in stillborn cases. The high prevalence of lesions consistent with vascular malperfusion of the placental bed suggests that stillbirth prevention strategies in obese women should rely on the development of tools to study and improve decidual artery functioning early in pregnancy.

Fetal pancreatic Langerhans islets size in pregnancies with metabolic disorders.

Objective: Metabolic disorders are a pandemic and increasing health problem. Women of childbearing age may also be affected, thus an abnormal metabolism may interfere with pregnancy short- and long-term outcomes, harming both mother and child. In the context of an abnormal maternal and intrauterine metabolic milieu the development of fetal organs, including pancreas, may be affected. Aim: To investigate the effects of pregnancy metabolic disorders on the morphology of pancreatic Langerhans islets in human late-third trimester stillborn fetuses. Methods: Samples from fetal pancreas underwent a quantitative histological evaluation to detect differences between pregnancy with (cases, n = 9) or without (controls, n = 6) abnormal metabolism. Results: Results show that the islets size increases in fetuses from dysmetabolic pregnancies and that this increment is related to both beta-cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Moreover, according to pregnancy and fetal metabolic disorders, a threshold of abnormal size of the islets has been identified. Above this threshold the size of fetal pancreatic Langerhans islets should be considered excessively increased. Conclusion: The study suggests that an accurate fetal pancreas analysis supplies an important tool in stillborn fetus, to discover metabolic disturbances that should be kept in mind and managed in future pregnancies.