Outcome of Toxoplasmosis Acquired during Pregnancy following Treatment in Both Pregnancy and Early Infancy

Abstract

Objectives: Congenital toxoplasmosis is associated with clinical dilemmas as untreated infants may have a guarded prognosis and as treatment may induce severe side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of infants born to mothers with toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy, following administration of appropriate regimens both during pregnancy and early infancy. Study Design: All 35 infants, born to mothers with toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy, and referred to the major Neonatal Department in Crete, Greece, during the 7-year period 1997–2003 were included. All neonates were evaluated soon after birth and on a regular follow-up. Results: Almost all mothers received spiramycin from diagnosis through labor and 2 received pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. At birth, infants had IgG antibody titers ranging from 1/1,350 to 1/109,350. All infants initially received pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine and folinic acid but in only 4 cases treatment was continued beyond the second month of life. Transient neutropenia was commonly observed. A follow-up period of 1.2–8.2 years did not reveal any remarkable sequelae. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that effective treatment both during pregnancy and early infancy is safe and may contribute to a good outcome of infants born to mothers with toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy.

Congenital toxoplasmosis and prenatal care state programs

“…That’s because there are no controlled studies on the efficacy of the medication, but in absence of evidence of prenatal treatment effect does not exclude a clinically important beneficial effect. Our study is in accordance with studies that have shown a reduction in severity of fetal infection when the mother was treated during pregnancy [12,23,34-36,41-47,50-54,57-59]. Also showed that congenital toxoplasmosis is more severe in Goiânia than elsewhere [19].…”

“…Previous studies have shown that diagnosis of acute infection during pregnancy and its consequent treatment can reduce several forms of congenital infections [4-14,21,23,32,35,41-48,50-54,57-61],[80,81,86]. These studies emphasize the importance of preventive programs of congenital toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, including surveillance of seroconversion in seronegative pregnant women.…”

Congenital toxoplasmosis: perception of knowledge and primary prevention measures among healthcare professionals and pregnant women treated in public healthcare facilities

“…The supply of educational material with information about the prevention of T. gondii infection has been effective in reducing seroconversion rates [23,24]. Furthermore, effective treatment during pregnancy and early childhood can also contribute towards a favorable outcome in children born to mothers with toxoplasmosis acquired during gestation [25,26].…”

Toxoplasmose gestacional: perfil epidemiológico e conhecimentos das gestantes atendidas na unidade básica de saúde de um município alagoano

“…Com relação à criação de gatos, 10 delas confirmaram que criavam gatos, sabe-se que a toxoplasmose é uma zoonose, ou seja, uma doença transmitida ao homem pelos animais. O gato é o hospedeiro definitivo do protozoário, portanto era de interesse da pesquisa saber quantas gestantes possuíam gatos em casa, e se haviam contato com o felino (21) .…”