Case of a healthy infant born following antenatal enterovirus myocarditis and hydrops

Coxsackievirus Group B Infections during Pregnancy: An Updated Literature Review

Coxsackievirus group B (CVB), a member of the Picornaviridae family and enterovirus genus, poses risks during pregnancy due to its potential to cause severe fetal and neonatal infections. Transmission primarily occurs through fecal-oral routes, with infections peaking mostly in warmer months. Vertical transmission to the fetus can lead to conditions such as myocarditis, encephalitis, and systemic neonatal disease, presenting clinically as severe myocardial syndromes and neurological deficits. Diagnostic challenges include detecting asymptomatic maternal infections and conducting in utero assessments using advanced techniques like RT-PCR from amniotic fluid samples. Morbidity and mortality associated with congenital CVB infections are notable, linked to preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, and potential long-term health impacts such as type 1 diabetes mellitus and structural cardiac anomalies. Current treatments are limited to supportive care, with emerging therapies showing promise but requiring further study for efficacy in utero. Preventive measures focus on infection control and hygiene to mitigate transmission risks, which are crucial especially during pregnancy. Future research should aim to fill knowledge gaps in epidemiology, improve diagnostic capabilities, and develop targeted interventions to enhance maternal and fetal outcomes.

Brain imaging in children with neonatal cholestatic liver disease: A systematic review

AIM

To determine if children with neonatal cholestatic liver disease had concurrent and later findings on brain imaging studies that could be attributed and the cholestasis to contribute to the understanding of the impaired neuropsychological development.

METHODS

Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched on July 21, 2022, and updated on March 26, 2023. Studies with children under 18 years of age with neonatal cholestasis and a brain scan at the time of diagnosis or later in life were included. Excluded studies were non-English, non-human, reviews or conference abstracts. Data were extracted on demographics, brain imaging findings, treatment and outcome. The results were summarised by disease categories. Risk of bias was assessed using JBI critical appraisal tools.

RESULTS

The search yielded 12 011 reports, of which 1261 underwent full text review and 89 were eligible for inclusion. Haemorrhage was the most common finding, especially in children with bile duct obstruction, including biliary atresia. Some findings were resolved after liver transplantation.

CONCLUSION

Children with neonatal cholestasis had changes in brain imaging, which might play a role in impaired neuropsychological development, but longitudinal clinical research with structured assessment is needed to better qualify the aetiology of the impairment.

2023 HRS expert consensus statement on the management of arrhythmias during pregnancy

This international multidisciplinary expert consensus statement is intended to provide comprehensive guidance that can be referenced at the point of care to cardiac electrophysiologists, cardiologists, and other health care professionals, on the management of cardiac arrhythmias in pregnant patients and in fetuses. This document covers general concepts related to arrhythmias, including both brady- and tachyarrhythmias, in both the patient and the fetus during pregnancy. Recommendations are provided for optimal approaches to diagnosis and evaluation of arrhythmias; selection of invasive and noninvasive options for treatment of arrhythmias; and disease- and patient-specific considerations when risk stratifying, diagnosing, and treating arrhythmias in pregnant patients and fetuses. Gaps in knowledge and new directions for future research are also identified.

Transplacental Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Pregnant Women with Fetal Tachyarrhythmia Using HPLC-MS/MS

Fetal arrhythmia develops in 0.1-5% of pregnancies and may cause fetal heart failure and fetal hydrops, thus increasing fetal, neonatal, and infant mortality. The timely initiation of transplacental antiarrhythmic therapy (ART) promotes the conversion of fetal tachycardia to sinus rhythm and the regression of the concomitant non-immune fetal hydrops. The optimal treatment regimen search for the fetus with tachyarrhythmia is still of high value. Polymorphisms of these genes determines the individual features of the drug pharmacokinetics. The aim of this study was to study the pharmacokinetics of transplacental anti-arrhythmic drugs in the fetal therapy of arrhythmias using HPLC-MS/MS, as well as to assess the effect of the multidrug-resistance gene ABCB1 3435C > T polymorphism on the efficacy and maternal/fetal complications of digoxin treatment. The predisposition to a decrease in the bioavailability of the digoxin in patients with a homozygous variant of the CC polymorphism showed a probable association with the development of ART side effects. A pronounced decrease in heart rate in women with the 3435TT allele of the ABCB1 gene was found. The homozygous TT variant in the fetus showed a probable association with an earlier response to ART and rhythm disruptions on the digoxin dosage reduction. high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) methods for digoxin and sotalol therapeutic drug monitoring in blood plasma, amniotic fluid, and urine were developed. The digoxin and sotalol concentrations were determined in the plasma blood, urine, and amniotic fluid of 30 pregnant women at four time points (from the beginning of the transplacental antiarrhythmic therapy to delivery) and the plasma cord blood of 30 newborns. A high degree of correlation between the level of digoxin and sotalol in maternal and cord blood was found. The ratio of digoxin and sotalol in cord blood to maternal blood was 0.35 (0.27 and 0.46) and 1.0 (0.97 and 1.07), accordingly. The digoxin concentration in the blood of the fetus at the moment of the first rhythm recovery episode, 0.58 (0.46, 0.8) ng/mL, was below the therapeutic interval. This confirms the almost complete transplacental transfer of sotalol and the significant limitation in the case of digoxin. Previously, ABCB1/P-glycoprotein had been shown to limit fetal exposure to drugs. Further studies (including multicenter ones) to clarify the genetic features of the transplacental pharmacokinetics of antiarrhythmic drugs are needed.

Clinical characteristics of severe neonatal enterovirus infection: a systematic review

Background

Enterovirus (EV) is a common cause of infection in neonates. Neonates are at high risk of enterovirus infection with serious clinical manifestations and high lethality. This review systematically summarized the clinical characteristics of neonates with severe enteroviral infection to provide evidence for the identification and treatment of severe neonatal EV infection.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for original studies on neonates with severe EV infections from January 1, 2000, to November 27, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and performed a descriptive analysis.

Results

In total, 66 articles with 237 cases of severe neonatal enterovirus infection were included. All neonates developed severe complications. Among them, 46.0% neonates had hepatitis or coagulopathy, 37.1% had myocarditis, 11.0% had meningoencephalitis, and 5.9% had other complications such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and pulmonary hemorrhage. The lethality rate of neonates with severe infection was 30.4%. The highest lethality rate was 38.6%, which was observed in neonates with myocarditis. In 70.5% neonates, the age at the onset of symptoms was less than 7 days. Coxsackievirus B infection was seen in 52.3% neonates. The most common symptoms included temperature abnormalities (127, 53.6%), rash (88, 37.1%), poor feeding (58, 24.5%), and respiratory symptoms (52, 21.9%). The main treatment included transfusion of empirical antibiotics (127, 53.6%), blood components (100, 42.2%), intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG; 97, 40.9%), mechanical ventilation (51, 21.5%), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO; 43, 18.1%). Additionally, antiviral medications pleconaril (14, 5.9%) and pocapavir (3, 1.3%) were administered.

Conclusions

Lethality was high in neonates with severe enterovirus infection, especially in those complicated with myocarditis. The most common symptoms included temperature abnormalities, rash, and poor feeding. The chief supportive treatment consisted of transfusion of blood components, mechanical ventilation, and ECMO. Empirical antibiotics and IVIG were widely used. Antiviral medications included pocapavir and pleconaril; however, more clinical evidence regarding their efficacy is needed.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-02599-y.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease in pregnancy: 7 years Tuscan experience and literature review

OBJECTIVE

Evaluation of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) diagnostic strategies in pregnancy and the risk of HFMD-related fetopathy.

STUDY DESIGN

Pregnant women consecutively evaluated between 2010 and 2016 at the Tuscany Reference Center for Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy for HFMD were enrolled. A descriptive analysis of infected patients/newborns data and literature review were carried out.

RESULT

Of the 128 women evaluated, 52 (41%) were symptomatic: 32 (61.5%) developed HFM vesicles, 12 (23%) palmoplantar vesicles, and 8 (15.5%) oral aphthae. Serological positivity and direct Enterovirus detection on blood and vesicle were obtained in 1.9% (1/52), 9.1% (1/11), and 68.7% (11/16), respectively. Three miscarriage and few cases of fetal/neonatal anomalies were reported.

CONCLUSION

HFMD diagnosis is primarily a clinical diagnosis. Direct viral detection is more sensitive than serology. Considering our series and literature review, data on embryo-fetal-neonatal outcomes are not conclusive. Although the role of EV as causative agents of congenital defects remains uncertain, the described cases of unfavorable outcome impose prudence and monitoring of pregnant women with HFMD throughout the gestation.

Adverse effects of maternal enterovirus infection on the pregnancy outcome: a prospective and retrospective pilot study

Background

Enteroviruses account for about one billion infections worldwide each year, the majority remain asymptomatic. Data on enterovirus infections during pregnancy appear to be very rare. Several cases have been reported in the literature of fetal and neonatal complications attributed to these viruses, but prospective data on these infections during pregnancy are not available.

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of enterovirus infections in febrile syndromes in pregnant women, and in case of in utero fetal death (IUFD).

Methods

Ttri-centric observational cohort study. We performed prospective inclusion for patients with fever during a four-month period. We also analyzed the amniotic fluid in patients with unexplained IUFD retrospectively during a five-year period. Investigations of enteroviruses are made by RT-PCR from routine biological samples (amniocentesis, RT-PCR in maternal blood or CSF).

Results

Prospectively, 33 patients were included during the study period. We have identified 4 cases of confirmed enterovirus infection (12.4%). We have recorded a severe form of perinatal enterovirus infection involving the vital prognosis of the newborn.

In the retrospective cohort of 75 IUFD cases, we had only one case of enterovirus-positive RT-PCR in amniotic fluid during 5 years, meaning a frequency of 1.3%. We did not had any positive EV case in case of early miscarriage, but the limited number of inclusions cannot help us to conclude.

Conclusion

Enteroviruses are probably an underestimated cause of obstetric and neonatal complications. Investigation of enterovirus by PCR should be discussed during pregnancy and peripartum in case of febrile syndrome with no obvious bacterial cause, and unexplained IUFD.

[Enterovirus infection during pregnancy: Underestimated cause of fetal and neonatal complications?]

Enteroviruses are responsible for about one billion infections every year in the world. The clinical expression is in the vast majority asymptomatic cases (90%). Its consequences during pregnancy are rarely described. From the Medline database, we selected and analyzed 34 articles ranging from 1965 to 2015, to analyse the current knowledge of enterovirus infection consequences during pregnancy. We found that enterovirus infections may be the cause of fetal loss. The enterovirus infections during the 2nd and 3rd trimester may also lead to in utero fetal anomalies and death, but also to severe neonatal infections. PCR enterovirus detection should be performed during pregnancy and the peripartum in case of unexplained fever, specific fetal anomalies or unexplained fetal demise.

Application of bioinformatics in probe design enables detection of enteroviruses on different taxonomic levels by advanced in situ hybridization technology

BACKGROUND

Enteroviral infections are common, affecting humans across all age groups. RT-PCR is widely used to detect these viruses in clinical samples. However, there is a need for sensitive and specific in situ detection methods for formalin-fixed tissues, allowing for the anatomical localization of the virus and identification of its serotype.

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to design novel enterovirus probes, assess the impact of probe design for the detection and optimize the new single molecule in situ hybridization technology for the detection of enteroviruses in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples.

STUDY DESIGN

Four enterovirus RNA-targeted oligonucleotide RNA probes - two probes for wide range enterovirus detection and two for serotype-targeted detection of Coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) - were designed and validated for the commercially available QuantiGene ViewRNA in situ hybridization method. The probe specificities were tested using a panel of cell lines infected with different enterovirus serotypes and CVB infected mouse pancreata.

RESULTS

The two widely reactive probe sets recognized 19 and 20 of the 20 enterovirus serotypes tested, as well as 27 and 31 of the 31 CVB1 strains tested. The two CVB1 specific probe sets detected 30 and 14 of the 31 CVB1 strains, with only minor cross-reactivity to other serotypes. Similar results were observed in stained tissues from CVB -infected mice.

CONCLUSIONS

These novel in-house designed probe sets enable the detection of enteroviruses from formalin-fixed tissue samples. Optimization of probe sequences makes it possible to tailor the assay for the detection of enteroviruses on the serotype or species level.