MMSL 2024, 93(1):49-59 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2023.005

HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES OF PLACENTA IN WOMEN WITH COVID-19Original article

Luma Ibrahim Khalel Al-Allaf ORCID...*, Harith Ali Hasan Al-Nauimi
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq

Background: During pregnancy, COVID-19 viral infection may cause abnormal placental findings. The studies that have focused on the placental structure among infected women with such virus were few. Aim: This study aims to compare the placental histology of women affected by COVID-19 to that of non-infected women.

Methods: A prospective case-control study that enrolled placentae of 20 pregnant women who delivered at Al-Khansaa Maternity Teaching Hospital in Ninevah Province /North of Iraq was accomplished. Ten women were positive for CoVID-19 in the antenatal period. Placental biopsies were obtained from the placental maternal side and placental fetal side and were prepared for histopathological examination after staining with (H&E) using a light microscope.

Results: This study revealed that the microscopic assessment of placentas women who were diagnosed with COVID-19 exhibited several features in comparison with those of the control group. Among these findings were those of maternal vascular mal perfusion which are represented represented by accelerated villous maturation, thickening of the blood vessel wall, syncytial knots, incomplete villi growth, perivillous fibrin deposition, and congestion of the blood vessels. On the other hand, fetal vascular mal perfusion is represented by delayed villous maturation, increase numbers of large bullous villi with evidence of syncytial injury, reduced vasculosyncytial membrane formation, villous oedema, increase in the nucleated red blood cells' number, cholangitis with intervillous haemorrhage. Placental sections in COVID-19-infected women revealed inflammatory changes that were picked out in both maternal and fetal sides represented by chronic villitis, edematous villi with infiltration with inflammatory cells, and decidual oedema with infiltration with inflam-matory cells. Features of syncytial injury, decidual fibrinoid necrosis, surge in the nucleated red blood cells' counting, infarction, haemorrhage, and calcification were noticed in some sections.

Conclusion: This study observed considerable histopathological lesions in the placentae of mothers infected by the COVID-19 virus against the non-infected group.

Keywords: COVID-19 virus; placenta; histological changes

Received: November 10, 2022; Revised: January 19, 2023; Accepted: January 24, 2023; Prepublished online: March 29, 2023; Published: March 1, 2024  Show citation

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Khalel Al-Allaf, L.I., & Al-Nauimi, H.A.H. (2024). HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES OF PLACENTA IN WOMEN WITH COVID-19. MMSL, 93(1), 49-59. doi: 10.31482/mmsl.2023.005
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