A prospective matched study on symptomatic dengue in pregnancy

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 3;13(10):e0202005. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202005. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Dengue fever is an increasing problem worldwide, but consequences during pregnancy remain unclear. Much of the available literature suffers from methodological biases that compromise the validity of clinical recommendations. We conducted a matched cohort study during an epidemic in French Guiana to compare events and pregnancy outcomes between two paired groups of pregnant women: women having presented with symptomatic dengue during pregnancy (n = 73) and women having had neither fever nor dengue during pregnancy (n = 219). Women in each arm were matched by place of follow up, gestation weeks at inclusion, and place of residence. Dengue infection was considered to be confirmed if viral RNA, N S1 antigen, the seroconversion of IgM antibodies or the presence of IgM was detected in collected samples. According to the 2009 WHO classification, 27% of the women with symptomatic dengue had at least one clinical or biological warning sign. These complications occurred after the 28th week of gestation in 55% of cases. The medical history, socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics were included in multivariate analysis. Exposure to dengue during pregnancy was not significantly associated with prematurity, small for gestational age infants, hypertension or emergency caesarian section. Maternal dengue with warning signs was a risk factor for peripartum hemorrhage with adjusted relative risk = 8.6(95% CI = 1.2-62). There was a near significant association between dengue and in utero death (p = 0.09). This prospective comparative study underlined the importance of taking into account potential confounders between exposure to dengue and the occurrence of obstetrical events. It also confirms the need for increased vigilance for pregnant women with dengue, particularly for women who present with severe dengue.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cesarean Section
  • Cohort Studies
  • Dengue / complications
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue / physiopathology
  • Dengue / virology
  • Dengue Virus / isolation & purification
  • Dengue Virus / pathogenicity*
  • Female
  • French Guiana / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Low Birth Weight
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / prevention & control
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / epidemiology*
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / pathology
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / virology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by European public funds (PO-FEDER 2007-2013 program; presage number 31257), by Pasteur Institute, and by Cayenne General Hospital. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.