Toxoplasmosis impact on prematurity and low birth weight

Background Toxoplasma gondii, one of the most common parasites, causes toxoplasmosis, one of the most frequent zoonotic diseases worldwide. T. gondii infects about one-third of the world’s population. T. gondii infection is generally considered a major risk for spontaneous abortion, prematurity and low birth weight in the animal sphere. Less commonly, a toxoplasma serological profile is correlated with the particular data of delivery. Acute T. gondii infection during pregnancy often leads to spontaneous abortion and/or a severe injury of the eyes, brain, and other structures of the foetus. Latent T. gondii infection of pregnant women could lead to less obvious but important changes during pregnancy, including the end product of pregnancy and the timing of labour. This study aimed to contribute to the current knowledge by comparing serological T. gondii profiles of pregnant women with prematurity and low birth weights of newborns. Material and methods A retrospective study design was adopted. The study participants included a cohort of 1733 pregnant women who consecutively gave birth to their children and underwent regular antenatal biochemical screening between the 14th and 16th weeks of pregnancy. Prematurity was defined as the liveborn preterm delivery in gestational age of pregnancy <37 weeks. Low birth weight was defined as weight at birth of ≤2499 grams. The complement-fixation test (CFT) provided serological profiles for toxoplasmosis that expresses the overall levels of toxoplasma immunoglobulins of all classes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for IgG and IgM were used simultaneously. IgM positivity helped to differentiate acute from the latent stage of toxoplasmosis. Birth data, especially the week of delivery and fetal weight, were evaluated accordingly. Results Of the 1733 pregnant women, 25% were diagnosed as latent toxoplasma positive, and 75% as toxoplasma negative. There were 87 premature deliveries versus 1646 timely births. We observed 88 low birth weights and 1645 normal fetal weights. We found a statistically significant association between latent toxoplasmosis and prematurity, χ2(1) = 5.471, p = .019 and between latent toxoplasmosis and low birth weight of newborns, χ2(1) = 7.663, p = .006. There was a 1.707 times higher risk of prematurity for toxoplasma-positive women, while the risk for low birth weight was 1.861 times higher. The strength of both tests of association was mild. We tested the correlation between the levels of CFT titres and week of delivery and weight of newborns. No association was found between the level of latent toxoplasmosis and the week of delivery and fetal weight. Conclusion Latent toxoplasmosis was associated with premature birth rate and lower birth weight of newborns. The odds of premature delivery was 1.7 and low birth weight 1.9 times higher in women with latent toxoplasmosis compared to toxoplasma negative women. Even though the strength of the association in our large sample is relatively mild, the combination of latent toxoplasmosis with other adverse factors could cause serious harm. Whole CFT and specific IgG levels of latent toxoplasmosis are not linked to the severity of prematurity or low birth weight in newborns.

Fetal head circumference versus fetal weight at term as a predictor of labour outcome

Background: Several models have been proposed to predict the need for an LSCS. With reference to this, the impact of the size of the fetal head traversing the birth canal is an important determinant of delivery outcomes. We examined the association between the head circumference and mode of delivery and perinatal outcomes, when compared to birth weight predicted by scan.Methods: This was a retrospective study, on 800 electronic delivery records between December 2019 and May 2021. Sociodemographic data, obstetrical parameter, term scan findings of head circumference and estimated fetal weight, and labour and perinatal outcomes were collected and analysed.Results: HC >95th centile was found to be comparatively more predictive and statistically significant compared to EFW >95th centile in the prediction of LSCS, with the most common indication being cephalopelvic disproportion. Prolonged second stage of labour was statistically significant in both cohort A and B, undergoing vaginal delivery. It was also noted that a significant number of newborns in cohort A required NICU admissions, while NICU admissions after emergency LSCS was significantly higher in the cohort B (p=0.0032) though the overall 5 and 10 minute APGAR scores and duration of stay were comparable in the groups classified on basis of EFW and HC.Conclusions: The above statistics observed on an Indian population may aid obstetricians in the planning of the mode of delivery, improve pre-labor counselling and efficient management of mothers of large babies.