Comparison of placental pathologies in pregnant women with COVID-19 according to disease severity

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the placental pathologies of pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 according to disease severity. 
 Materials and method: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary center between April 2020 and February 2023. The placentas of 125 pregnant women in their third trimester who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 were examined. Placental pathologies were classified according to the modified Amsterdam criteria. According to the disease severity, the patients were divided into two groups: non-severe COVID-19 (n=104) and severe COVID-19 (n=21). Placental pathology results were compared between the two groups. 
 Results: The rates of maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) and fetal vascular malperfusion (FVM) were 90.4% and 45.2% in the non-severe COVID-19 group. Whereas it was significantly lower at 71.4% and 19% in the severe COVID-19 group (p=0.018 and p=0.026, respectively). The rate of delayed villous maturation (DVM) was 9.5% in the severe COVID-19 group and 1% in the non-severe COVID-19 group, indicating a statistically significant difference (p=0.019). Inflammatory pathologies and other pathological findings were similar between the two groups. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission, presence of accompanying maternal diseases, and postpartum complications were statistically significantly higher in the severe COVID-19 group (p