title: Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin in pregnant women with acute parvovirus B19 infection with and without fetal complications.
abstract: Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MS-AFP) and human gonadotropin (MS-hCG) were retrospectively determined in 137 sera from 65 pregnant women with an acute parvovirus B19 infection. In 35 of the pregnant women, fetal complications occurred (group 1); in the remaining 30 women, there were no fetal complications (group 2). In group I, significant elevations of MS-AFP were detected in 13 of the 35 women (37 per cent) and of MS-hCG in 25 of the 35 women (71 per cent). In nine of those women, sera were obtained before occurrence of fetal complications and MS-AFP was elevated in one case and MS-hCG in four cases. In one woman, both MS-AFP and MS-hCG were elevated. In group 2, significant elevations of MS-AFP were found in two of the 30 women (6-7 per cent) and of MS-hCG in five of the 30 women (16.7 per cent). Neither MS-AFP nor MS-hCG appears to be a regular early marker for poor pregnancy outcome in parvovirus B19-infected pregnancies, although they were frequently elevated at the time of complications.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Infektiologie und Epidemiologie, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komischke
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Searle
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Enders
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000502:physiology*; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000097:blood*; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins