An Observational Study on the Fetomaternal Outcomes of Pyrexia in Pregnancy at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Fever in pregnancy is a common clinical scenario with high maternal and foetal morbidity. The body's physiological and immunological changes during pregnancy make them more susceptible to infections, which can have negative impacts on pregnancy outcomes. Prompt identification and treatment of febrile illnesses is key to reducing fetomaternal morbidity. The current study was designed to assess fetomaternal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by pyrexia in a tertiary care hospital focusing on etiological profile of fever and its maternal and fetal outcomes. Material and Methods: The study was a prospective observational study conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government RDBP Jaipuria Hospital, Jaipur for 5–6 months following approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Sixty-nine pregnant women with a history of fever and/or complaints compatible with febrile illness were enrolled in labour. A predesigned proforma was used for demographic, clinical, laboratory and obstetric data collection. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were evaluated up to discharge. IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: Most of the women were in the age group 20-30 years (84.1%) and were primigravidae (89.9%). The most frequent cause of fever was upper respiratory tract infection (44.9%), urinary tract infection (20.3%), typhoid (20.3%) and dengue (14.5%). Sixty six and two thirds of the participants had low grade fever. The most common complications were fetal distress (34.8%) and intrauterine growth restriction (26.1%). 18.8% had preterm labour and 14.5% had premature rupture of membranes. 63.8% of women had a full-term vaginal delivery. Neonatal complications were intrauterine growth restriction (26.1%), low birth weight (21.7%), preterm birth (18.8%), and NICU admission (14.5%). No intrauterine death, no neonatal septicaemia and no neonatal mortality was reported. Conclusion: Pyrexia in pregnancy results in significant maternal and neonatal morbidity including fetal distress, intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight and preterm labour. Early diagnosis, early treatment of underlying infections and careful antenatal monitoring may help to ensure good fetomaternal outcome.

Keywords: Pyrexia in pregnancy, maternal fever, fetomaternal outcome, pregnancy complications, neonatal outcome.