Point shear wave velocity(pSWV) evaluation of the placenta of pregnant women who had recovered from COVID-19: A prospective cohort study from a tertiary pandemic center.

INTRODUCTION

To assess the placental elasticity using point shear wave velocity (pSWV) in pregnant women who had recovered from coronavirus COVID-19.

METHODS

A total of 40 pregnant women who had recovered from moderate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and 40 healthy pregnant women were included in this study. We evaluated placental elasticity by using transabdominal pSWV method. Three measurements were made, and their average was accepted as the mean placental velocity value in each case. The results were compared between the post-COVID-19 and control groups.

RESULTS

The mean pSWV values were significantly higher in the post-COVID-19 group compared to the control group, indicating that the women with a history of COVID-19 had stiffer placentas. Furthermore, the pSWV values were significantly and positively correlated with the uterine artery pulsatility index. We also found that the NICU requirement was statistically higher in the post-COVID 19 group.

DISCUSSION

The pregnant women who had recovered from COVID-19 had rigid placentas than the healthy controls. The use of pSWV for the assessment of placental velocity may provide valuable information in the diagnosis and management of post-COVID-19 patients as a complementary tool to the existing ultrasonography methods.