Universal Sars-Cov-2 Screening in Pregnant Women: Experience from the Italian Epidemic Outbreak.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Sars-CoV-2 infection has rapidly spread worldwide following the first cases reported in China. Piacenza is one of the most affected cities in Italy. Many infections occurred in the hospital due to the high frequency of patients and healthcare professionals interaction. The aim of the work is to evaluate advantages of universal screening for Sars-Cov-2 in pregnant women admitted to a hospital setting and calculate frequency of infection in an obstetrical population.  Methods: all pregnant women attending Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Piacenza from 22nd April to 18th June 2020 were screened for Sars-Cov-2 using a nasopharyngeal swab.  Results: 240 pregnant women were tested upon admission: all twelve (5%) testing positive were asymptomatic. None of the positive asymptomatic women developed COVID-19 symptoms or adverse perinatal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: the diagnosis of asymptomatic pregnant women through universal screening provides the opportunity to protect mothers, babies and heath care workers. In accordance with other studies, our findings add to the growing body of evidence showing high rates of asymptomatic infection in the healthcare setting and highlight a critical need for universal screening of pregnant women.

Vaginal Uterine Morcellation Within a Specimen Containment System: A Study of Bag Integrity.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the integrity of the endoscopic bag after transvaginal in-bag morcellation of uteri that need to be removed by vaginal morcellation during total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). DESIGN: Prospective pilot study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Twelve patients with uteri that needed to be removed and who required vaginal morcellation underwent TLH from September 2014 to February 2015, without suspected or confirmed malignancy. INTERVENTIONS: After transvaginal in-bag morcellation of uteri at the end of TLH, careful visual inspection of the endoscopic pouch, using diluted methylene blue, was carried out, highlighting any minimal bag damage. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: No gross rupture was encountered after morcellation; however, 4 minimal ruptures were recognized (33%) after filling up the bag with diluted methylene blue. CONCLUSIONS: Minimal lesions of the bag may occur after transvaginal morcellation of uteri that need to be removed by vaginal morcellation; this may potentially affect the spread of cancer cells into the abdominal cavity.