Screening for viral infection and anemia among pregnant women with bad pregnancy outcome in Egyptian population

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Prenatal Diagnosis and Fetal Medicine Department, National Research Centre, Egypt

2 Prenatal Diagnosis and Fetal Medicine Department, National Research Centre, Egypt.

3 Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Egypt.

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health concern worldwide and in Egypt. Viral hepatitis during pregnancy is closely related to high risks of maternal complications Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered the most common cause of congenital malformation that results from viral intrauterine infection in developed countries. Anemia is one of the common complications that is associated with increased risk of bad pregnancy outcome including low birth weight and preterm birth. The aim of this study was to screen for HCV, CMV and anemia among pregnant women in Egyptian population. This prospective study was conducted at the Prenatal Diagnosis clinic in the National Research Centre between April 2013 and August 2015 and a total of 200 pregnant women during their second trimester of pregnancy were enrolled and divided into case group (150/200) with current or history of bad pregnancy outcome and control group (50/200) with no previous history of bad pregnancy outcome. All blood samples were tested for complete blood picture and liver enzyme tests and were screened by ELISA for Anti-HCV and CMV-IgG and IgM. After all investigations including medical and family history for all pregnant women included in the study, all data was statistically analyzed using spss version 19. Anemia was diagnosed in pregnant women with hemoglobin level below 11 g/dl and it was detected in 24 % (48/200) of the total pregnant females included in the study. Five cases tested positive for Anti-HCV antibody among all cases enrolled in the study and was found in the cases group 3.33% (5/150) while all pregnant women in the control group showed negative results. Screening for CMV showed 100 % CMV-IgG while we found 0 % CMV-IgM. Screening for anemia and serological screening for CMV and HCV antibodies should be routine tests especially among pregnant women.

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