Maternal thrombocytopenia precedes fetal death associated with COVID-19.

Acute coagulopathy, specific placental pathology, and an increased risk of fetal death have been reported in pregnant women with COVID-19; however, the association between coagulopathy and fetal death remains unknown. We report two pregnant women with COVID-19 who showed acute coagulopathy prior to fetal death. Both pregnant women presented with thrombocytopenia after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (days 5 and 7). They had mild symptoms, but coagulopathy progressed, and their fetuses died on day 9 at 27 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. Their coagulability improved after delivery. Placental histology in both cases showed intervillous infiltration of histiocytes, necrosis of trophoblasts, and intervillous fibrin deposition, which were consistent with previously reported pathological findings related to SARS-CoV-2. In the management of pregnant women with COVID-19, thrombocytopenia may be a predictive marker of fetal death following coagulopathy and placental inflammatory changes due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
(© 2022 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.)