ASSESSMENT OF CHANGE OF ERYTHROCYTES AFFINITY TO OXYGEN UNDER CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN AT VARIOUS PERIODS OF GESTATION

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach to the assessment of blood oxygen transport function by the degree of erythrocytes affinity to oxygen in pregnant women with cytomegalovirus infection, which is based on the use of oxygen absorbing reagent followed by photometry and calculation of the coefficient of oxygenation of erythrocytes. 60 antibody-positive to cytomegalovirus pregnant women at 9-12, 18-22 and 30-34 weeks of gestation (the main group) and 60 antibody-negative pregnant women (the control group) were studied in dynamics. The study found the increase of the coefficient for erythrocyte affinity to oxygen was due to activity of cytomegalovirus infection during gestation. At the relapse of cytomegalovirus infection at 9-12 weeks the coefficient for erythrocytes affinity to oxygen was 5.62±0.03 relative units (the control - 3.05±0.05 relative units, p<0.05), at the persistence of the disease at 18-22 weeks it was 4.51±0.03 relative units (control - 3.11±0.07 relative units, p <0.05), and when there was latent infection during the gestation of 30-34 weeks it was 4.27±0.2 relative units (control - 3.32±0.3 relative units, p<0.05). The results suggest the influence of active cytomegalovirus infection on the increase of erythrocytes affinity to oxygen, which constitutes a violation of oxygenation processes and can cause the development of hemic hypoxia in pregnant women, which endangers the general metabolism in the «mother-placenta-fetus» system.