Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in Second-Trimester Amniotic Fluid During the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the presence or absence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in second-trimester amniotic fluid during the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic in patients undergoing genetic amniocentesis.

STUDY

DESIGN

Women undergoing amniocentesis between September 2020 and April 2022 were asked to participate in the study. On the day of amniocentesis, an additional 5 mL of amniotic fluid, 5 mL of maternal blood sample, and nasal swabs were collected from each participant. None of the patients had active SARS-CoV-2 infection on the date of amniocentesis. Demographic data and history of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection were collected. After 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccination status was obtained. Amniotic fluid and maternal nasal swabs were collected and tested for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus via real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test using an automated bead-based method for extracting total nucleic acid. An electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on maternal blood was used to detect SARS-CoV-2 total (immunoglobin G/immunoglobin M) antibodies against nucleocapsids.

RESULTS

This study enrolled 92 patients. There were 16 patients who reported a history of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection: 8 of them reported SARS-CoV-2 virus infection during the first and second trimesters and 8 reported SARS-CoV-2 virus infection before pregnancy. A total of 49 patients were vaccinated prior to amniocentesis. All 92 amniotic fluid samples tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There were five positive and three negative SARS-CoV-2 maternal nucleocapsid antibody tests among the eight patients who had the SARS-COV-2 viral infection during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. All eight patients had negative swab tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no SARS-CoV-2 virus in the second-trimester amniotic fluid samples from the eight patients who reported SARS-CoV-2 viral infection during the first and second trimesters. This finding suggests that, after a first- and second-trimester SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, it is unlikely to find the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the amniotic fluid.