Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Human Placental Schistosomiasis – a Review of the Literature

Jacob Gerstenberg
,
Sasmita Mishra
,
Martha Holtfreter
,
Joachim Richter
ORCID logo ,
Saskia Dede Davi
,
Dearie G. Okwu
ORCID logo ,
Michael Ramharter
,
Johannes Mischlinger
,
Benjamin T. Schleenvoigt
* ORCID logo ,
For TropNet
Version 1 : Received: 11 April 2024 / Approved: 15 April 2024 / Online: 15 April 2024 (05:32:09 CEST)

How to cite: Gerstenberg, J.; Mishra, S.; Holtfreter, M.; Richter, J.; Davi, S.D.; Okwu, D.G.; Ramharter, M.; Mischlinger, J.; Schleenvoigt, B.T.; TropNet, F. Human Placental Schistosomiasis – a Review of the Literature. Preprints 2024, 2024040900. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0900.v1 Gerstenberg, J.; Mishra, S.; Holtfreter, M.; Richter, J.; Davi, S.D.; Okwu, D.G.; Ramharter, M.; Mischlinger, J.; Schleenvoigt, B.T.; TropNet, F. Human Placental Schistosomiasis – a Review of the Literature. Preprints 2024, 2024040900. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0900.v1

Abstract

Background: Schistosome egg deposition in pregnant women may affect the placenta of infected mothers and cause Placental Schistosomiasis (PS). Histopathological examination of placental tissue is an inadequate detection method due to low sensitivity. So far, there has not been any sys-tematic review on PS. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed and in-cluded relevant secondary literature found in the citations of the primarily included publications. Results: We found a total of 8 publications describing PS with a total of 92 cases, describing egg deposition of dead and/or viable eggs and worms of S. haematobium and S. mansoni in placental tissue. One cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence of PS and its association to adverse birth outcomes, found 22% of placentas to be infested using a maceration technique but only < 1% using histologic examination. Additionally, no direct link to deleterious pregnancy outcomes could be shown. Conclusions: PS is a highly unattended and underdiagnosed condition in en-demic populations, due to a lack of awareness as well as low sensitivity of histopathological examinations. However, PS may play an important role in mediating or reinforcing adverse birth outcomes (ABO) such as fetal growth restriction (FGR) in maternal schistosomiasis, possibly by placental inflammation.

Keywords

Schistosomiasis; Placenta; Adverse Birth Outcomes; Pregnancy; Praziquantel

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Tropical Medicine

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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