Clinical indicators of red blood in pregnant women with bacterial and COVID-19-associated community-acquired pneumonia

Introduction. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with the development of anemia and its clinical manifestations: hypoxemia and hypoxia, which complicates the course of the disease and leads to the development of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The studies are lack of a comparative description of the main laboratory signs of anemia in pregnant women with COVID-19-associated and bacterial CAP, which has a theoretical and applied significance.

Aim. To carry out a comparative analysis of the clinical indicators of red blood in pregnant women with COVID- 19-associated and bacterial CAP.

Materials and methods. 140 pregnant women were studied in the third trimester of pregnancy, of which 100 participants had CAP of moderate severity (main group) and with uncomplicated pregnancy – 40 (comparison group). The main group included 47 pregnant women with bacterial CAP and 53 participants with COVID-19-associated CAP. All pregnant women were comparable in age and duration of pregnancy. Bacteriological studies of sputum, detection of SARS-Cov-2 RNA in swabs from the oropharynx and nasopharynx by PCR, microscopy of peripheral blood smears, and a clinical blood test were performed.

Results. In pregnant women with COVID-19-associated CAP, compared with pregnant women with bacterial CAP, a number of differences were revealed in laboratory parameters that determine the development of anemia: the total number of erythrocytes was reduced by 1.22 times (p<0.001) and hemoglobin concentration by 1.1 times (p<0.05), the percentage of echinocytes was increased by 1.14 times (p<0.05) and degenerative forms of erythrocytes by 1.16 times (p<0.05).

Conclusion. In pregnant women with COVID-19-associated CAP, compared with pregnant women with bacterial CAP, significant changes in the number and morphological composition of erythrocytes, hemoglobin concentration were revealed, indicating a high risk of developing anemia and concomitant hypoxemia and hypoxia, which adversely affects the course of the disease and leads to development of pregnancy complications.

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