Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2026 Sep 23;48:e-rbgo51. doi: 10.61622/rbgo/2026rbgo51. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristics and the occurrence of fetal heart diseases and arrhythmias in pregnancies that underwent fetal echocardiography examination during COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data extracted from the Fetal Ultrasound and Fetal Medicine Departments of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, from January to December 2021. The sample was analyzed using chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, and Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney test. Logistic regression was performed to assess the risk of fetal arrhythmia and/or heart disease.
RESULTS: A total of 148 fetuses were included in the analysis. The prevalence of fetal heart disease/arrhythmia was higher among patients with maternal comorbidities (73.3% vs. 39.1%), fetal defects (14.3% vs. 0.8%), and functional abnormalities (26.7% vs. 4.5%). Maternal COVID-19 showed no significant association with fetal cardiac outcomes. Maternal comorbidity, fetal malformation, and the presence of functional abnormalities were identified as independent risk factors.
CONCLUSION: Maternal comorbidities were associated with fetal arrhythmia and/or heart disease, but no causal relationship was found between COVID-19 and adverse fetal cardiac outcome.
PMID:42923897 | PMC:PMC13690374 | DOI:10.61622/rbgo/2026rbgo51