Interdisciplinary correlations regarding the clinical and paraclinical evaluations in HIV-positive pregnant women

Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 2014 Jul-Sep;118(3):749-52.

Abstract

HIV infection in pregnancy has an increasing prevalence due to the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. The risk of HIV vertical transmission varies between 15-20 % in European women who do not breastfeed and 25-40% in African mothers who breastfeed. The most important predictive factor of the vertical transmission is maternal plasma HIV viral load. Vertical transmission can be largely prevented by prenatal screening, perigestational ART, an adapted obstetrical attitude and exclusively artificial feeding of the infant.

Material and method: The study included 36 HIV-positive pregnant women, between 2012-2014, at age of 25-32 years.

Results and discussions: It has been found that the birth weight was less than 2,700 grams in all newborns of HIV-positive pregnant women or those with advanced disease (AIDS) and, also, they received an APGAR score less than 7. The primordial desideratum is to decrease the rate of mother-fetus vertical transmission, thus the caesarian section has been established as the birth method in all HIV-positive pregnant women after 38 weeks of amenorrhea, on intact membranes, outside labor, resulting in halving the percentage of HIV-positive children. A very important role belongs to the interdisciplinary collaboration between the obstetrician and the infectious diseases specialist during the pregnancy, but also during the postpartum period. The role of the obstetrician is present in all the moments of pregnancy evolution. The HIV-positive pregnant woman is included in the group of high risk pregnancies.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-HIV Agents / therapeutic use
  • Birth Weight
  • Breast Feeding
  • Cesarean Section
  • Female
  • HIV Seropositivity / diagnosis
  • HIV Seropositivity / drug therapy
  • HIV Seropositivity / epidemiology*
  • HIV Seropositivity / transmission
  • Humans
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / prevention & control*
  • Interdisciplinary Communication
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / prevention & control*
  • Prenatal Diagnosis
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Romania / epidemiology
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents