1. Measles in pregnant women: A systematic review of clinical outcomes and a meta-analysis of antibodies seroprevalence
- Author
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Alberto Enrico Maraolo, Vincenzo Bianco, Serena Parente, Nicola Schiano Moriello, Grazia Tosone, and Paola Congera
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Microbiology (medical) ,medicine.medical_specialty ,030106 microbiology ,MEDLINE ,Measles ,Antibodies ,Herd immunity ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Pregnancy ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,medicine ,Seroprevalence ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ,reproductive and urinary physiology ,business.industry ,Obstetrics ,medicine.disease ,Pneumonia ,Infectious Diseases ,Meta-analysis ,Female ,Pregnant Women ,business ,Complication - Abstract
Summary Objectives Pregnant women represent a category at high risk of severe measles infection, that negatively affects the fetus as well. A systematic review of clinical outcomes of measles infection in gravid subjects and a meta-analysis of antibodies prevalence among pregnant women was conducted. Methods MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched up to 18 June 2018. The screening focused on: (i) articles describing the outcome of measles in pregnancy, synthesized in a descriptive fashion; (ii) articles addressing the measles seroprevalence in cohorts of gravid women, analysed quantitatively. Results Twenty-nine articles met inclusion criteria. A total of 420 cases of measles in gravid subjects were described, from 1941 to 2012. Among women, 18 deaths (4.3%) occurred, and the most frequent complication was pneumonia (75/420, 17.9%). Prematurity was the most important complication concerning fetal outcomes (55 out of 410 cases with available data, 13.4%). The random-effects pooled seroprevalence of measles in 20,546 gravid women worldwide was 89.3% (95% CI: 87.3–91.1%), that decreased, although not in a statistically significant way, over time (p = 0.54). Conclusions Measles infection in pregnancy is dangerous both for the mother and the foetus. Antibody seroprevalence among gravid women on a global scale is lower than the herd immunity threshold.
- Published
- 2019