STUDY OF SEROPOSITIVITY FOR TORCH INFECTIONS IN WOMEN WITH BAD OBSTETRIC HISTORY

Background: Pregnancy loss has been attributed to several factors involved in human reproduction. The prenatal and perinatal infections, falling under the designation of TORCH complex is a medical acronym for a set of perinatal infections. Infections caused by TORCH are the major causes of BOH. Identification of positive titer of IgG and IgM during pregnancy in women with previous negative titers of TORCH antibodies suggests a proliferative disease condition dangerous to the fetus and is more likely to cause a miscarriage or serious birth defects. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of TORCH infections in women having history of previous pregnancy loss and women with high delivery risk factors (HDRF) in Ahmedabad city. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was done from July 2012 to June 2014, in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state. A total of 150 women with HDRF were included in the study depending on previous unfavorable fetal outcome in terms of two or more consecutive spontaneous abortion, history of IUD, IUGR, preterm labor, still births, early neonatal death and/or congenital anomalies, in the age group of 19-35 years. Results: Majority of BOH cases [79 (52.7%)] were found in females aged 25-30 years. Out of 150 BOH cases [90(60.0%)] were serologically positive for one of the TORCH infections. Majority of seropositivity cases [49 (32.6%)] were found in females aged 25-30 years. In BOH cases the seropositivity for toxoplasma gondii was 25.3%, CMV 14.6%, HSV 10.6%, and rubella virus 9.3%. In 25-30 years age group, seropositivity rate were 52.7%, 57.1%, 45.5% and 68.7% for toxoplasma, rubella, CMV and HSV respectively. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates a strong association between the TORCH infectious agents and women having BOH. All the patients with previous history of recurrent pregnancy miscarriage should be subjected to TORCH screening. All antenatal cases with BOH, should be routinely screened for TORCH agents as early diagnosis to reduce adverse fetal outcome, diminishing the morbidity and mortality.