An uncommon case of placental histopathology with antenatal fetal death under new coronavirus infection

Abstract

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a number of studies related to the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the course of pregnancy and fetus condition. As observed, the placentas of women who have had a new coronavirus infection often contain more villous agglutination and subchorionic thrombi than placentas in SARS-CoV-2-negative women. To date, several isolated publications have reported clinical cases of fetal death in mothers infected with coronavirus infection. The authors have made an assumption on the association of adverse outcomes with placental lesions. The aim of the study was to analyse a clinical case of a moderate-course new coronavirus infection in a pregnant woman at a long gestation period who underwent an antenatal fetal death, and evaluate the features of placental histopathology and their impact on adverse gestational outcomes. Material and methods. The authors have analysed Russian and international research publications from various sources, including eLIBRARY.RU, CyberLeninka, PubMed databases etc. and, considering the data obtained, investigated a clinical case of intrauterine fetal death in a pregnant woman infected with SARS-CoV-2. The placenta was studied in accordance with the clinical recommendations of the Russian Society of Pathologists "Rules for placental pathological and anatomical examination" and the international classification of placental lesions (Amsterdam, 2015). Results. The results obtained support the association between acute diseases of the upper respiratory tract and developing severe hemodynamic disorders in the "mother-placenta-fetus" system in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2. Systemic inflammation associated with new coronavirus infection appears to be one of the mechanisms for developing placental disorders.