Vall d'Hebron will study the placental tissue of women infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy

Vall d'Hebron University Hospital together with the Italfarmaco group and the Anatomopathological Center of Madrid, carry out a research project to study the placental tissue of a hundred women infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy.

Current evidence indicates that among the manifestations associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are thrombotic complications. These manifestations occur as a consequence of a hypercoagulable state that is usually related to the severity of the infection, which could be added to the risk inherent in pregnancy itself.

Therefore, pregnant women are being an important focus of attention, monitoring and research in the current pandemic caused by COVID-19.

The placenta is a highly vascularized organ, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby. Certain alterations in the placenta have been linked to problems in pregnancy and in the health of the newborn.

In this sense, Plaxavid study coordinated by Dr. Anna Suy, head of the Obstetrics Section of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and in which the Pathological Anatomy Service at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital, the Italfarmaco group and the Anatomopathological Center of Madrid participate, is analyzing the placentas of approximately 100 women who have suffered COVID-19 during their pregnancy. "The main objective of this study is to evaluate the existence of signs of poor vascular perfusion that may translate into a predisposition or a greater occurrence of thrombosis in the placental tissue",explains Dr. Anna Suy, principal investigator of the study and the research group of Fetal Maternal Medicine at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). "Other placental alterations and their relationship with the clinical characteristics of pregnant women, with the appearance of certain problems of pregnancy, or of the newborn will also be analyzed", she adds.

Specifically, the Plaxavid Study will provide data on the prothrombotic state that has been related to the COVID-19 pathology and its possible placental impact, while contributing to the knowledge of the effects of this infection on pregnancy.

“The results of this study will contribute to improving the efficient management of pregnant women who have suffered from COVID-19 infection and of her newborn”, concludes Dr. Suy.

Dr. José Montans, director of the Anatomopathological Center of Madrid, responsible for carrying out the histopathological study of the placentas, tells us about the value of this study: “It is a unique approach to date to a problem that has not been sufficiently evaluated: to study the impact of the disease on pregnant women with COVID-19 from a clinical, analytical, pathological and to some extent epidemiological point of view. From the anatomopathological point of view, it will allow to systematically evaluate all possible vascular and inflammatory lesions in the placenta and their correlation with clinical data, both from the point of view of the evolution of the pregnancy and the evolution of COVID in these patients”.