Clinical Characteristics and Incidence of Spontaneous Preterm Birth in Symptomatic COVID-19 Pregnant Women: An Observational Study

Severe iodine deficiency in mothers is known to impair foetal development. Pregnant women in the UK may be iodine insufficient, but recent assessments of iodine status are limited. This study assessed maternal urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) and birth outcomes in three UK cities. Spot urines were collected from 541 women in London, Manchester and Leeds from 2004–2008 as part of the Screening for Pregnancy End points (SCOPE) study. UIC at 15 and 20 weeks’ gestation was estimated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Associations were estimated between iodine status (UIC and iodine-to-creatinine ratio) and birth weight, birth weight centile (primary outcome), small for gestational age (SGA) and spontaneous preterm birth. Median UIC was highest in Manchester (139 μg/L, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 126, 158) and London (130 μg/L, 95% CI: 114, 177) and lowest in Leeds (116 μg/L, 95% CI: 99, 135), but the proportion with UIC <50 µg/L was <20% in all three cities. No evidence of an association was observed between UIC and birth weight centile (−0.2% per 50 μg/L increase in UIC, 95% CI: −1.3, 0.8), nor with odds of spontaneous preterm birth (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.20). Given the finding of iodine concentrations being insufficient according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines amongst pregnant women across all three cities, further studies may be needed to explore implications for maternal thyroid function and longer-term child health outcomes.

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Serum apolipoprotein A-II and alpha-2-antiplasmin levels in midtrimester can be used as predictors of preterm delivery

Journal of International Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0300060520952280 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (9) ◽

pp. 030006052095228

Author(s):

Jianxia Huang ◽

Yuhong Yang ◽

Pei He

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Preterm Delivery ◽

Coagulation Cascade ◽

Protein Markers ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Retrospective Case ◽

Normal Delivery ◽

Apolipoprotein A ◽

Group D

Objective To identify serum protein markers in midtrimester that predict preterm delivery. Methods A retrospective case–control study randomly selected patients that experienced spontaneous preterm birth and healthy control patients that experienced a normal delivery at term. A proteomic analysis was undertaken using the data-independent acquisition method. Results A total of 30 singleton pregnant women were randomly selected from 12 800 pregnant women: 15 women had a spontaneous preterm birth (group Y) and 15 age- and body mass index-matched women gave birth at term (group D). All of the patients provided serum at 15–20 weeks of gestation. A total of 39 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Compared with group D, 24 proteins were upregulated and 15 were downregulated in the preterm group Y. Using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment, the 24 upregulated proteins were significantly enriched in the complement and coagulation cascade pathways. Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes Furthermore (STRING) analysis showed that apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) and alpha-2-antiplasmin (α2-AP), two upregulated proteins, were key nodes in the STRING protein–protein network. Conclusions These findings suggest that apoA-II and α2-AP might be new markers for predicting preterm delivery in the midtrimester.

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Investigation of factors associated with spontaneous preterm birth in pregnant women living with HIV

AIDS ◽

10.1097/qad.0000000000002464 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 719-727

Author(s):

Arianne Y.K. Albert ◽

Chelsea Elwood ◽

Emily C. Wagner ◽

Zahra Pakzad ◽

Tessa Chaworth-Musters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Women Living With Hiv ◽

Living With Hiv

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Delivery prediction in pregnant women with spontaneous preterm birth using fetal adrenal gland biometry

The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine ◽

10.3109/14767058.2016.1147556 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (23) ◽

pp. 3756-3761 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Aline Pinto Lemos ◽

Francisco Edson de Lucena Feitosa ◽

Edward Araujo Júnior ◽

Helvécio Neves Feitosa ◽

João Gabriel Damasceno Pereira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Adrenal Gland ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth

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Clinical Pharmacology Aspects of Some Tocolytic Drugs Used in Pregnant Women at Risk of Preterm Birth

The Bulletin of the Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products ◽

10.30895/1991-2919-2019-9-3-162-166 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 162-166

Author(s):

E. A. Sоkоvа ◽

R. A. Chilova ◽

O. A. Demidova ◽

K. O. Akopov

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Preterm Labour ◽

Plasma Concentrations ◽

Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ◽

Pharmacokinetic Parameters ◽

Clinical Effects ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Rational Pharmacotherapy ◽

The Impact

Spontaneous preterm birth is one of the most pressing issues in obstetrics, as it remains one of the leading causes of newborn morbidity and mortality. Pending issues of aetiology, pathogenesis, and absence of medicinal products indicated for the treatment of spontaneous preterm labour pose a challenge for rational pharmacotherapy. The paper presents the results of a scientific literature review on the problem of rational pharmacotherapy of spontaneous preterm labour using tocolytic drugs — calcium channel blockers, cyclooxygenase inhibitors. The paper summarises specific pharmacokinetic parameters of these drugs during pregnancy. It discusses pharmacogenetic aspects of using tocolytic drugs in pregnant women and their potential clinical effects. It was demonstrated that women with threatened miscarriage had high interindividual variability in nifedipine plasma concentrations depending on CYP3A5 genotype. It was shown that certain genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C9 may lead to an increased metabolic rate and an increase in indomethacin clearance resulting in the reduction of its efficacy. Yet, there is minimal research regarding this issue. Therefore, further research is needed to assess the impact of CYP3A5 and CYP2C9 genotypes on the efficacy and safety of nifedipine and indomethacin used as tocolytic drugs in obstetrics.

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Clinical Validation of a Proteomic Biomarker Threshold for Increased Risk of Spontaneous Preterm Birth

10.1101/2021.01.23.21249902 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julja Burchard ◽

Ashoka D. Polpitiya ◽

Angela C. Fox ◽

Todd Randolph ◽

Tracey C. Fleischer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Observational Study ◽

Preterm Births ◽

The United States ◽

Elevated Risk ◽

Clinical Validation ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Risk Predictor

AbstractPreterm births are prevalent and a leading cause of neonatal death in the United States. Despite the availability of effective interventions, to date there is not a robust and widely applicable test to identify pregnancies at high risk for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Previously, a sPTB predictor based on the ratio of two proteins, IBP4/SHBG, was validated as an accurate predictor of sPTB in the observational study Proteomic Assessment of Preterm Risk (PAPR). Here it is demonstrated that the same predictor threshold associated with 2-fold increased risk of sPTB, namely −1.4, is also statistically significant for predicting elevated risk of sPTB in the observational study Multicenter Assessment of a Spontaneous Preterm Birth Risk Predictor (TreeToP).

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Fetomaternal outcome in COVID-19 infected pregnant women: a preliminary clinical study

International Journal of Reproduction Contraception Obstetrics and Gynecology ◽

10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20203843 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 3704

Author(s):

Parul T. Shah ◽

Sapana R. Shah ◽

Sushma R. Shah ◽

Pushpa A. Yadava ◽

Babulal S. Patel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Clinical Study ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Severe Pneumonia ◽

Third Trimester ◽

Missed Abortion ◽

Viral Nucleic Acid ◽

Live Births ◽

The Third

Background: WHO has declared COVID-19 infection a health emergency of international concern on 11th March, 2020. It is not clear whether clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID-19 differ from those of nonpregnant women and whether it aggravates COVID-19 symptoms and whether antiviral therapy is necessary for COVID-19 infected pregnant women.Methods: This is prospective study of 125 cases based on the compiled clinical data for pregnant women with COVID-19 between 15th April 2020 and 10th June 2020. A laboratory confirmed positive case of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women were included.Results: The most common symptoms at presentation were cough in 61.6% (77/125) and fever in 46.4% (58/125). Other reported symptoms were sore throat in 13.6% (17/125), myalgia in 10.4% (13/125) while 38.4% (48/125) were asymptomatic. There were total 97 deliveries (including 2 twins’ deliveries) among which 3 cases had IUD. Present study reported 96 live births. The incidence of missed abortion was 2.4% (3/125). The incidence of preterm birth before 37 weeks was 8.2% (8/97). Ninety-six (96.9%) of neonates were tested for SARS-CoV-2 viral nucleic acid on nasopharyngeal and pharyngeal samples and 16.67% (16/96) were resulted positive.Conclusions: At present, there is no evidence regarding the greater risk of pregnant women to succumb to COVID-19 infection and experience severe pneumonia. The risks of spontaneous abortion and preterm birth are not increased as reported in this study but shows possibility of vertical transmission when it manifests during the third trimester of pregnancy.

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Use of metabolomics for predicting spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic pregnant women: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026033 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. e026033 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Renato T Souza ◽

Rafael Bessa Galvão ◽

Debora Farias Batista Leite ◽

Renato Passini Jr ◽

Philip Baker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Research Question ◽

Case Control Studies ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Ethical Approval ◽

Registration Number ◽

Review Protocol

IntroductionPreterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and short- and long-term morbidity. The aetiology and pathophysiology of spontaneous PTB (sPTB) are still unclear, which makes the identification of reliable and accurate predictor markers more difficult, particularly for unscreened or asymptomatic women. Metabolomics biomarkers have been demonstrated to be potentially accurate biomarkers for many disorders with complex mechanisms such as PTB. Therefore, we aim to perform a systematic review of metabolomics markers associated with sPTB. Our research question is ‘What is the performance of metabolomics for predicting spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic pregnant women?’Methods and analysisWe will focus on studies assessing metabolomics techniques for predicting sPTB in asymptomatic pregnant women. We will conduct a comprehensive systematic review of the literature from the last 10 years. Only observational cohort and case-control studies will be included. Our search strategy will be carried out by two independent reviewers, who will scan title and abstract before carrying out a full review of the article. The scientific databases to be explored include PubMed, MedLine, ScieLo, EMBASE, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus and others.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review protocol does not require ethical approval. We intend to disseminate our findings in scientific peer-reviewed journal, the Preterm SAMBA study open access website, specialists’ conferences and to our funding agencies.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018100172.

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