HIV and pregnancy

HIV in Pregnancy Dr.V.Ravimohan Website

HIV 1 HIV2 Less virulent clinical disease Less likely to be vertically transmitted

Clinical features of HIV
1-primary infection/seroconversion
Asymptomatic or
Accompanied by fever,fatigue,lymphadenopathy or rash
2-Latent phase
3.Symtomatic disease
Opportunistic infections-Ex.pneumocystis pneumonia
Secondary neoplasm-Ex.Kaposi’s sarcoma

Investigation
HIV antibody test-antibody to part of viral membrane/envelope
Another test is Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for viral DNA/viral RNA
CD4 count reflect the current degree of immunosuppression
HIV-RNA level is the main predictor of disease progression.

Mother to child transmission
Non breast feeding women in Europe 15-20%
Breast feeding mothers in Africa 25-40%
Breast feeding is associated with 2 fold increase in transmission.

Prevention
Maternal child transmission is prevented by
Antenatal HIV screening
Antiretroviral therapy
Elective Caesarean section
Avoiding breast feeding
Reduced from 25-30% to less than 2 %

Effect of pregnancy on HIV
CD4 counts fall during pregnancy but return to pre pregnancy levels post partum.
No increased risk of accelerated immunosuppression.

Effect of HIV in pregnancy

Antenatal management
Screening for HIV should be offered early in pregnancy because appropriate antenatal interventions can reduce maternal-to-child transmission of HIV infection.
positive HIV antibody test result should be given to the woman in person by an appropriately trained health professional.

multidisciplinary team
HIV positive patients should be managed by a multidisciplinary team.
HIV physician
an Obstetrician
a Midwife
a Paediatrician
a Psychiatric team
support groups

Confidentiality
Confidentiality is important.
Information may be disclosed to a known sexual contact of the woman ,where she can’t be persuaded to do so. Link

Booking visit
Additional tests
Lymphocyte subsets
Quantitaive RNA PCR measurement of viral load
Hepatitis B & C
Cervical & vaginal swaps to check for STDs,Bacterial vaginosis & Group B streptococcus.
CD4 count should be tested every trimester or more frequently if maternal viral load is high.

2 reasons
prevention of mother-to-child transmission (therapy usually discontinued at, or soon after, delivery)
secondly for treatment of the mother to prevent maternal disease progression (therapy continued indefinitely after delivery)

anti-retroviral therapy is recommended for all HIV positive women during pregnancy and at delivery to prevent MTCT.
The optimal regimen is determined by an HIV physician on a case-by-case basis.
The decision to start,modify or stop anti-retroviral therapy
should be undertaken by an HIV physician
in close liaison with other health professionals
obstetrician
paediatrician.

Women who are not on HIV treatment for their own health need anti-retroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
Anti-retroviral therapy is usually started between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation and should be continued intrapartum.
A maternal sample for plasma viral load is taken at delivery.
Maternal anti-retroviral therapy is usually stopped soon after delivery but the precise time of discontinuation should be discussed with the HIV physician.
Zidovudine is usually administered orally to the neonate for four to six weeks.

Timing
Antenatal(consider possibility of preterm Ex.Twins)
Intrapartum
Neonatal period(4-6 weeks)
Choice of antiretroviral therapy & Timing is decided by HIV physician.
Plasma viral load & CD4 counts regularly monitored.

Timing of prophylaxis
When to start prophylaxis in women who doesn’t require treatment for their disease?
ACTG076(AIDS clinical trial group ) recruited from 14-36 weeks & median gestation was 26 weeks.
If shorter exposure
Less chance of possible long term complications
Less chance of selecting zidovudine resistant species
BUT risk of inadequate therapy incase of preterm labour

Antiretroviral therapy......
Patients on antiretroviral therapy should be monitored for toxicity
full blood count
urea and electrolytes
liver function tests
Lactate
blood glucose
Patients should also have detail ultrasound scan to detect foetal anomalies.

Drug toxicity
Presentation with symptoms or signs of
pre-eclampsia
Cholestasis
other signs of liver dysfunction during pregnancy
may indicate drug toxicity and early liaison with HIV physicians should be sought.

Lactic acidosis
is a recognised complication of certain HAART regimens.
presenting symptoms
often nonspecific
include
gastrointestinal disturbance
fatigue
fever
breathlessness.

Types of HIV drugs
Reverse transcriptase inhibitors
Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
Non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
Protease inhibitors
Entry inhibitors
Integrase inhibitors
Maturation and assembly inhibitors
Other viral proteins
More information at aidsmap

Drug safety in pregnancy
Category B (animal studies fail to show risk to fetus)
ddI ,saquinavir,ritonavir,nelfinavir
Category C(animal studies have either not been done or have shown abnormalities
Indinavir,nevirapine
Efavirenz has shown teratogenic potential
Mitochonrial toxicity is another concern- Review

Prophylaxis of Pneumocystis carinii
PCP prophylaxis is usually administered when the CD4 T-lymphocyte count is below 200 106/l.
The first line treatment is cotrimoxazole(a folate antagonist).
Folic acid 5 mg should also be given
Nebulised pentamidine is another alternative.

Screening for genital infections
All pregnant women who are HIV positive should be screened genital infections.
When to do ?
This should be done as early as possible in pregnancy
repeated at around 28 weeks.
Any infection detected should be treated according to UK national guidelines.

Antenatal care
Screening for Down syndrome and fetal anomalies should be offered.
A detailed ultrasound scan for fetal anomalies is important after first-trimester exposure to HAART and folate antagonists used for prophylaxis against PCP.

invasive prenatal diagnosis
The risk of mother-to-child transmission with chorionic villus sampling or second-trimester amniocentesis are hasn’t been estabilished.
If invasive prenatal diagnosis is contemplated, the advice of the fetal medicine specialist and HIV physician should be seeked and prophylaxis with HAART considered.

Prevention of MTCT
2 choices of antiretroviral therapy
Single agent-Zidovudine
START(short term antiretroviral therapy)
HAART for short duration in pregnancy and continued intrapartum

Zidovudine Vs START Zidovudine START may allow the emergence of resistant virus maternal plasma viraemia is more likely to be suppressed to undetectable levels exposure of the mother and fetus to larger numbers of potentially toxic drugs

advanced HIV
likely to have symptomatic HIV infection and
a falling or low CD4 T-lymphocyte count (less than 350 106/l)
and/or a high viral load (greater than 10 000–20 000 copies/ml).

advanced HIV
These women should be treated with a HAART regimen.
The start of treatment should be deferred until after the first trimester, if possible, and should be continued after delivery.

advanced HIV
Women who conceive while taking HAART should continue their HAART regimen if it is effectively suppressing plasma viraemia.
For women whose regimen is not suppressing viraemia, a change in therapy after the first trimester may be indicated.

Mode of delivery
Elective Caesarean section is beneficial
HIV positive women who are not taking HAART during pregnancy
for women with a detectable plasma viral load
Value of elective caesarean section is uncertain
in women taking HAART who have an undetectable plasma viral load at the time of delivery.

LSCS in HIV women
A zidovudine infusion
should be started four hours before beginning the caesarean section
Should continue until the umbilical cord has been clamped.
A maternal sample for plasma viral load should be taken at delivery.
The cord should be clamped as early as possible after delivery and the baby should be bathed immediately after the birth.

LSCS in HIV women....
a technique of ‘bloodless’ caesarean section may further reduce the risk of mother-tochild transmission.
opening the uterus with a staple gun,which simultaneously cuts and giveshaemostasis.

Casarean section
This should be sheduled at 38 weeks to reduce the risk of spontaneus labour or membrane rupture.
Contamination of the baby with maternal blood should be avoided
Secure the bleeding points
Allowing the membrane to be present along uterine incision prior to the rapid delivery of baby
Cord clamped as soon as possible

Casarean section
Drainage should be used sparingly and they should be used to closed suction system
Universal precautions :gloves, aprons & face protection should be employed.

Labour in HIV woman
Women who opt for a planned vaginal delivery should have their membranes left intact for as long as possible.
Use of fetal scalp electrodes and fetal blood sampling should be avoided.
Women should continue their HAART regimen throughout labour .
If an intravenous infusion of zidovudine is required it should be commenced at the onset of labour and continued until the umbilical cord has been clamped.
A maternal sample for plasma viral load should be taken at delivery.
The cord should be clamped as early as possible after delivery and the baby should be bathed immediately after the birth.
HIV infection per se is not an indication for continuous electronic fetal monitoring

Vaginal delivery
Forceps preferred to Vacuum
Remove maternal blood stain with alcohol wipe prior to Vitamin K injection
Universal precautions :gloves, aprons & face protection should be employed.

Women scheduled for Emergency caesarean section presents in early labour
Studies have shown no benefit with non elective caesarean
In case of
Early stages of labour
Patient presenting immediately after SROM
Probability of prolonged labour
LSCS still may be protective
If quick delivery is likely one could wait for vaginal delivery.

SROM in HIV
SROM-spontaneus rupture of Membranes
ruptured membranes for more than four hours were associated with double the risk of HIV transmission.
These studies also demonstrated a 2% incremental increase in transmission risk for every hour of rupturedmembranes up to 24 hours.
The relevance of these studies for women taking HAART who have undetectable viral loads is uncertain.

PPROM in HIV
PPROM-preterm prelabour rupture of membranes
If there is preterm rupture of membranes, with or without labour, the risk of HIV transmission should be set against the risk of preterm delivery.
Preterm infants are more likely to be infected with HIV.
There is no known contraindication to the use of short-term steroids to promote fetal lung maturation.

Postpartum
In UK women with HIV advised not to breast feed
Neonate infections.
PCR is done as maternal antibodies cross the placenta
Typically, tests are carried out at birth, then at three weeks, six weeks and six months.
definitive test is the HIV antibody test: a negative result at 18 months of age confirms that the child is uninfected.

Management of the neonate
All infants born to women who are HIV positive should be treated with anti-retroviral therapy from birth.
Usually treatment is discontinued after four to six weeks

IVF pregnancy in HIV patients
This is ethically acceptable
Life expectancy of couple is improved HAART
Vertical transmission can be reduced to less than 2%
Pre pregnancy counselling should be done.

IVF pregnancy in HIV patients Discordant couple If Male HIV Negative artificial insemination at the time of ovulation, and quills, syringes and Gallipots may be provided. If Female HIV negative ‘ Sperm washing’-spermatozoa are separated from surrounding HIV-infected seminal plasma by a sperm swim-up technique

Needle stick injury
In case of needle stick injury post exposure prophylaxis has to be started with in 1-2 hours

More information
British HIV Association
HIV types, groups & subgroups

Sources
Greentop guideline
Nelson-Piercy C. Handbook of obstetric medicine. Taylor & Francis; 2002.
Swiet MD. Medical disorders in obstetric practice. Wiley-Blackwell; 2002.

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HIV and pregnancy

by Ravimohan Ravimohan on Feb 22, 2010

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HIV and pregnancy — Presentation Transcript