infections during pregnancy Flashcards
what class of the virus does varicella zoster virus belong too
herpesvirus 3
what type of virus is VZV?
- single stranded DNA virus
- double stranded DNA virus
- single stranded RNA virus
-double stranded RNA virus
double stranded DNA virus
what type of vaccine is varicella zoster
live attenuated
is it safe to vaccinate pregnant women who are not immune to VZV
no - can vaccinate when postpartum and safe to BF
Chelsie is struggling to conceive and is undergoing fertility tests. Her blood tests come back for VZV showing IgG negative, IgM negative.
what do these results mean?
If she decides to take the VZV vaccine how long would you recommend avoiding pregnancy for
non immune to VZV - offer vaccine pre pregnancy then need to avoid pregnancy for 4 weeks after completion of both doses
when is chickenpox considered contagious
2 days before the onset of the rash until the lesions have crusted over
in terms of pregnancy what is considered a significant exposure to chicken pox (VZV)
Significant contact is defined as contact in the same room for 15 minutes or more, face-to-face contact or contact in the setting of a large open ward
Jenny is currently 22 weeks pregnant and comes to her GP worried about the risk of chickenpox. She is a nurse teacher and one of the children yesterday came to nursery with a rash that the parents have since confirmed to be chickenpox. She doesn’t remember having chicken pox as a child.
What is the most appropriate next step in her management
A - prescribe oral acyclovir
B - ring maternity colleagues to arrange admission for IV acyclovir
C- serum IgG tests for VZV
d- reassure, not significant contact no need for further tests or treatment
C - test serum IgG levels to assess immunity
Jenny is currently 22 weeks pregnant and comes to her GP worried about the risk of chickenpox. She is a nurse teacher and one of the children yesterday came to nursery with a rash that the parents have since confirmed to be chickenpox. She doesn’t remember having chicken pox as a child.
Her serum IgG levels are negative. How should you manage Jenny?
Ring obstetric colleagues to arrange admission for IVIG - this needs to be given with 10 days of exposure
when is VZV immunoglobulin advisable
VZV Immunoglobulin is advised for all pregnant women who have had significant exposure to someone with VZV (chicken pox) regardless of their gestation, it should also be given up day 10 postnatal
what is the aim of VZV immunoglobulin
to reduce the risk of fetus developing congenital Varicella zoster, reduce maternal morbidity and mortality
what are the risks of VZV to mum
risk of developing pneumonia, encephalitis and hepatitis. VZV is associated with greater morbidity in adults
If a pregnant woman develops chicken pox rash within what time frame should acyclovir be considered as treatment
oral acyclovir advised to anyone > 20 weeks and consider if <20 weeks
oral acyclovir should only be given within 24 hours of the onset of the rash
is acyclovir licenced in pregnancy
no
if a pregnant woman develops severe VZV infection how should they be managed
IV acyclovir and admission
what is the mode of action of acyclovir
Aciclovir is a synthetic nucleoside analogue that inhibits viral DNA polymerase. Thus preventing the growing viral DNA chain.
Jane is 8 weeks pregnant and has been diagnosed with maternal VZV infection. She is worried about the risk of miscarriage, which of the following statements is true
A - the risk of spontaneous miscarriage does not appear to be increased if chickenpox occurs in the first trimester.
B- risk of spontaneous miscarriage is increased if chickenpox occurs in the first trimester
A - risk of spontaneous miscarriage does not appear to be increased if chickenpox occurs in the first trimester
what are the signs of fetal varicella syndrome
dermatomal skin scarring, eye defects, hypoplasia of the limbs and neurological complications
fetal varicella syndrome results from
A - initial infection of VZV
b- initial infection in utero of VZV
c- subsequent reactivation of herpes zoster in utero
c - subsequent reactivation of herpes zoster in utero
for women diagnosed with varicella infection during pregnancy what tests can they consider to diagnose the fetus with FVS
consider amniocentesis for VZV PCR but has good negative predictive value and lots of risks associated with it.
USS to look for signs of VZV in utero
VZV DNA per has a higher sensitivity than specificity
True or false
True
at what gestation in pregnancy is risk to the baby highest for development of varicella infection
last 4 weeks of pregnancy
what are the two oncogenes that HPV interferes with to cause cervical cancer
HPV is thought to induce cancer via onco-proteins. The primary onco-proteins are E6 and E7 which inactivate two tumor suppressor proteins, p53 (inactivated by E6) and pRb (inactivated by E7)
what family of viruses does rubella belong too
togavirus
how would congenital rubella infection present
sensoneural hearing loss
cardiac defects
cataracts
rubella is teratogenic and poor prognosis to the fetus
describe the virus of Rubella
single stranded RNA virus
what type of vaccine is the rubella vaccine
live attenuated
is it safe to vaccinate pregnant women with rubella vaccine
no - wait till postpartum fine to vaccinate when breast-feeding