Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases
SARS-CoV-2 placental infection, also known as placentitis (SP), is an established cause of stillbirth; however, this pathology is rare and its incidence across different viral variants is unknown. We report two new cases of SP-associated stillbirth in the third trimester of pregnancy. The cases were...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Miriam A. Snow Medini K. Annavajhala Sofia Z. Moscovitz Anne-Catrin Uhlemann Larisa Debelenko |
| author_facet | Miriam A. Snow Medini K. Annavajhala Sofia Z. Moscovitz Anne-Catrin Uhlemann Larisa Debelenko |
| author_sort | Miriam A. Snow |
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| description | SARS-CoV-2 placental infection, also known as placentitis (SP), is an established cause of stillbirth; however, this pathology is rare and its incidence across different viral variants is unknown. We report two new cases of SP-associated stillbirth in the third trimester of pregnancy. The cases were identified by a retrospective review of 84 fetal autopsies performed at our institution from 1 March 2020 to 1 March 2024. In one case, the mother was previously healthy and asymptomatic for COVID-19. In the second case, the mother had a history of multiple sclerosis (MS) and suffered recurrent moderate-to-severe COVID-19. In both cases, the placentas showed SP with massive perivillous fibrin deposition (PVFD), involving more than 90% of placental discs, resulting in placental insufficiency and lethal hypoxic–ischemic injury to the fetuses. Placental tissues were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Sequencing revealed the delta variant in Case 1 and omicron XBB.1.515 in Case 2. The data demonstrate that SP, albeit rare, continues to cause intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) across viral variants regardless of the clinical severity of the infection. The persistence of rare cases of SP as COVID-19 becomes globally endemic emphasizes the importance of disease prevention in pregnancy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7b048372e2494e3c971e7640c65e68f0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-8112 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-7b048372e2494e3c971e7640c65e68f02025-01-24T13:27:57ZengMDPI AGCOVID2673-81122025-01-0151810.3390/covid5010008Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two CasesMiriam A. Snow0Medini K. Annavajhala1Sofia Z. Moscovitz2Anne-Catrin Uhlemann3Larisa Debelenko4Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USADepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USADepartment of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USASARS-CoV-2 placental infection, also known as placentitis (SP), is an established cause of stillbirth; however, this pathology is rare and its incidence across different viral variants is unknown. We report two new cases of SP-associated stillbirth in the third trimester of pregnancy. The cases were identified by a retrospective review of 84 fetal autopsies performed at our institution from 1 March 2020 to 1 March 2024. In one case, the mother was previously healthy and asymptomatic for COVID-19. In the second case, the mother had a history of multiple sclerosis (MS) and suffered recurrent moderate-to-severe COVID-19. In both cases, the placentas showed SP with massive perivillous fibrin deposition (PVFD), involving more than 90% of placental discs, resulting in placental insufficiency and lethal hypoxic–ischemic injury to the fetuses. Placental tissues were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Sequencing revealed the delta variant in Case 1 and omicron XBB.1.515 in Case 2. The data demonstrate that SP, albeit rare, continues to cause intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) across viral variants regardless of the clinical severity of the infection. The persistence of rare cases of SP as COVID-19 becomes globally endemic emphasizes the importance of disease prevention in pregnancy.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/1/8SARS-CoV-2placentafetusstillbirth |
| spellingShingle | Miriam A. Snow Medini K. Annavajhala Sofia Z. Moscovitz Anne-Catrin Uhlemann Larisa Debelenko Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases COVID SARS-CoV-2 placenta fetus stillbirth |
| title | Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases |
| title_full | Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases |
| title_fullStr | Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases |
| title_short | Placental Infection with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Leading to Stillbirth: Report of Two Cases |
| title_sort | placental infection with different sars cov 2 variants leading to stillbirth report of two cases |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 placenta fetus stillbirth |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/1/8 |
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