Objective To determine vaccine acceptance and hesitancy attitudes toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccines in pregnant women. Methods Three hundred pregnant women were surveyed face to face with 40 questions. Sociodemographic characteristics, vaccination history, perception of risk for the COVID‐19 pandemic, the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, and acceptance of and attitude toward future COVID‐19 vaccination were prospectively evaluated. Results Among all participants, 111 (37%) stated their intent to receive the vaccine if it were recommended for pregnant women. Most common refusal reasons were lack of data about COVID‐19 vaccine safety in pregnant populations and possibility of harm to the fetus. There was a weak positive correlation between COVID‐19 vaccine acceptancy and number of school‐age children. Pregnant women in the first trimester expressed higher acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccination than those in the second and third trimesters. Conclusion The present study reported low acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccination in a sample of pregnant women. Concern about vaccine safety was the major reason for hesitancy. Identifying attitudes among priority groups will be useful for creating vaccination strategies that increase uptake during the current pandemic.

We aimed to evaluate the postpartum depression rates and maternal-infant bonding status among immediate postpartum women, whose last trimester overlapped with the lockdowns and who gave birth in a tertiary care center which had strong hospital restrictions due to serving also for COVID-19 patients, in the capital of Turkey. The low-risk term pregnant women who gave birth were given the surveys Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) within 48 h after birth. A total of 223 women were recruited. The median score obtained from the EPDS was 7 (7) and 33 (14.7%) of the women were determined to have a risk for postpartum depression. The median scores of the EPDS inventory of depressive women were 15 (3). The median MAI score of 223 women was 100 (26); and the MAI scores of women with depression were significantly lower than the controls [73 (39) vs. 101 (18) respectively, p < 0.001]. Evaluation of the factors that affect the psychological status of pregnant and postpartum women will lead the healthcare system to improve the implementations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Background: Ceftriaxone, a third generation cephalosporin, is widely used for treating infection during childhood. The kidneys eliminate approximately 33-67% of this agent, and the remainder is eliminated via the biliary system. Ceftriaxone may bind with calcium ions and form insoluble precipitate leading to biliary pseudolithiasis. The aim of this study was to assess whether ceftriaxone associated nephrolithiasis develops by the same mechanism, and whether this condition is dose related. Methods: The study involved 51 children with various infections. Of these, 24 were hospitalized with severe infection and received 100 mg/kg/day ceftriaxone divided into two equal intravenous doses. The other 27 patients received a single daily intramuscular injection of 50 mg/kg/day. Serum and urine parameters were evaluated before and after treatment, and abdominal ultrasonographic examinations were also carried out before and after treatment. Results: Serum urea, creatinine, and calcium levels were normal in all patients before and after treatment. Post-treatment ultrasound identified nephrolithiasis in four (7.8%) of the 51 subjects. The stones were all of small size (2 mm). Comparison of the groups with and without nephrolithiasis revealed no significant differences with respect to age, sex distribution, duration of treatment, or dose/route of administration of ceftriaxone. The renal stones disappeared spontaneously in three of the four cases, but were still present in one patient 7 months after ceftriaxone treatment. Conclusions: Conclusions: The study showed that children taking a 7 day course of normal or high dose ceftriaxone may develop small sized asymptomatic renal stones. The overall incidence of nephrolithiasis in this study was 7.8%.

SARS CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus which has caused many deaths in the recent pandemic. This study aimed to determine zinc, copper and magnesium status on pregnant women with COVID-19. 100 healthy (33/32/35) and 100 SARS-CoV-2 positive (34/33/33) pregnant women were included in the study according to their trimesters. Blood samples were obtained from the patients along with the initial laboratory tests for clinical outcomes upon their first admission to hospital. In the first and third trimesters serum zinc level was lower (p:0,004 and p:0,02), serum copper level was higher (p:0,006 and p:0,008), the Zn / Cu ratio decreased(p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001) and the serum magnesium level was higher(p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001) in the COVID-19 group.In the second trimester COVID-19 patients had lower serum zinc (p:0,05) and copper levels (p:0,0003) compared to controls. Disease severity correlated with zinc/copper ratio in COVID19 patients (p:0.018, r:-0.243). Serum zinc and Zn/Cu ratio levels had a negative relationship with acute phase markers such as IL-6, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, procalcitonin and Creactive Protein. Also, increased serum magnesium level may play a role in decreased white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte cell count and increased CRP levels in the third trimester. This study indicated that trace element status changed in pregnant women with COVID-19. The effect of trace elements on pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 infection was investigated in comparison with healthy pregnant women for the first time. This effect will be revealed better in more comprehensive studies to be planned in the future.

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Objective To investigate the rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positivity in asymptomatic pregnant women admitted to hospital for delivery in a Turkish pandemic center. Study Design This prospective cohort study was conducted in Ankara City Hospital between April, 15, 2020 and June, 5, 2020. A total of 206 asymptomatic pregnant women (103 low-risk pregnant women without any defined risk factor and 103 high-risk pregnant women) were screened for SARS-CoV-2 positivity upon admission to hospital for delivery. Detection of SARS-CoV2 in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples was performed by Real Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) method targeting RdRp (RNA dependent RNA polymerase) gene. Two groups were compared in terms of demographic features, clinical characteristics and SARS-CoV-2 positivity. Results Three of the 206 pregnant women participating in the study had positive RT-PCR tests (1.4 %) and all positive cases were in the high-risk pregnancy group. Although, one case in the high-risk pregnancy group had developed symptoms highly suspicious for COVID-19, two repeated RT-PCR tests were negative. SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positivity rate was significantly higher in the high-risk pregnancy group (2.9 % vs 0%, p = 0.04). Conclusion Healthcare professionals should be cautious in the labor and delivery of high-risk pregnant women during the pandemic period and universal testing for COVID-19 may be considered in selected populations.

Objective We aimed to analyze the changing level of anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in pregnant women, with and without high-risk indicators separately, in a tertiary care center serving also for COVID-19 patients, in the capital of Turkey. Study Design We designed a case-control and cross-sectional study using surveys. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale questionnaire (STAI-T) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) which were validated in Turkish were given to outpatient women with high-risk pregnancies as study group and normal pregnancies as control group. A total of 446 women were recruited. Results There was a statistically significant difference between those with and without high-risk pregnancy in terms of Trait-State Anxiety scores with COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.05). We found an increased prevalence of anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in high-risk pregnant women comparing to pregnancies with no risk factors (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the education level in high-risk pregnant women in terms of anxiety scores (p < 0.05), Beck Anxiety score was highest in high school graduates (42.75). While the level of Trait Anxiety was the highest with pandemic in those with high-risk pregnancy with threatened preterm labor and preterm ruptures of membranes (58.0), those with thrombophilia were the lowest (50.88). The State Anxiety level and Beck Anxiety Score of those with maternal systemic disease were the highest (53.32 and 45.53), while those with thrombophilia were the lowest (46.96 and 40.08). The scores of Trait Anxiety (56.38), State Anxiety (52.14), Beck Anxiety (43.94) were statistically higher during the pandemic in those hospitalized at least once (p < 0.05). Conclusion High-risk pregnant women require routine anxiety and depression screening and psychosocial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. High-risk pregnancy patients have comorbid conditions most of the time, hence they not only at more risk for getting infected, but also have higher anxiety scores because of the stress caused by COVID-19 pandemic.