Evaluation of the lymphocyte population and placental inflammation in pregnant patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 forms - a secondary analysis

Vol. 65 No. 3, 2024

ROMANIAN JOURNAL of MORPHOLOGY and EMBRYOLOGY

Adina Elena Tanase, Raluca Anamaria Mogos, Simona Juliette Mogos, Stefana Raluca Bran, Tudor Catalin Gisca, Iustina Petra Solomon-Condriuc, Claudia Florida Costea, Gabriel Valentin Tanase, Andrei Ionut Cucu, Demetra Gabriela Socolov, Florin Dumitru Petrariu, Elena Andreea Pruteanu, Razvan Vladimir Socolov, Catalin Mihai Buzduga, Alexandru Carauleanu

Aim: In this secondary analysis, we aimed to characterize the lymphocytes population and placental inflammation in pregnant women with moderate and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forms. Patients, Materials and Methods: In the analysis of this prospective evaluation, we included 26 pregnant women at term with moderate and severe COVID-19 forms that were evaluated in a tertiary maternity center in a one-year timeframe. Clinical data, along with blood immunophenotyping results and placental histopathological examinations were comparatively evaluated between two study groups depending on the COVID-19 severity: Group 1 (moderate COVID-19, n=14 patients) and Group 2 (severe COVID-19, n=12 patients). Results: Pregnant patients with severe COVID-19 presented significantly lower total amount of lymphocytes (p<0.001), T-lymphocytes (p=0.009), cluster of differentiation (CD)4+ T-cells (p=0.002), B-lymphocytes (p=0.001). Also, the number of CD4+ T-cells (p=0.01), CD8+ T-cells (p=0.02) and B-lymphocytes (p=0.002) was lower enough for cases with severe COVID-19. Conclusions: Lymphocytopenia could be a useful hematological marker for risk stratification of COVID-19 in pregnant women at term. A vertical transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cannot be confirmed in this study, mainly because of the limited sample size and short timeframe between infection and birth.

Corresponding author: Claudia Florida Costea, Professor, MD, PhD; e-mail: costea10@yahoo.com; Catalin Mihai Buzduga, Lecturer, MD, PhD; e-mail: buzdugacatalin@yahoo.com

DOI: 10.47162/RJME.65.3.11 Download PDF
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