Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common valvular heart disease in women of reproductive age. Whether MVP increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes in pregnancy is unknown. The study objective was to examine the cardiac and obstetric outcomes associated with MVP in pregnant women. This retrospective cohort study, using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Readmission Sample database between 2010 and 2017, identified all pregnant women with MVP using the International Classification of Disease, Ninth and Tenth Revisions codes. The maternal cardiac and obstetric outcomes in pregnant women diagnosed with MVP were compared with women without MVP using multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for baseline demographic characteristics. There were 23,000 pregnancy admissions with MVP with an overall incidence of 16.9 cases per 10,000 pregnancy admissions. Pregnant women with MVP were more likely to die during pregnancy (adjusted hazard ratio 5.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09 to 24.16), develop cardiac arrest (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.44, 95% CI 1.04 to 18.89), arrhythmia (aOR 10.96, 95% CI 9.17 to 13.12), stroke (aOR 6.90, 95% CI 1.26 to 37.58), heart failure (aOR 5.81, 95% CI 3.84 to 8.79), or suffer a coronary artery dissection (aOR 25.22, 95% CI 3.42 to 186.07) compared with women without MVP. Pregnancies with MVP were also associated with increased risks of preterm delivery (aOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.44) and preeclampsia/hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets syndrome (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.41). In conclusion, MVP in pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal cardiac outcomes and higher obstetric risks.

Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) has created major impacts on public health. The virus has plagued a large population requiring hospitalization and resource utilization. Knowledge about the COVID-19 virus continues to grow. It can commonly present with gastrointestinal symptoms; initially, this was considered an atypical presentation, which led to delays in care. The pandemic has posed serious threats to the care of anorectal diseases. Urgent surgeries have been delayed, and the care of cancer patients and cancer screenings disrupted. This had added to patient discomfort and the adverse outcomes on healthcare will continue into the future. The better availability of personal protective equipment to providers and standard checklist protocols in operating rooms can help minimize healthcare-related spread of the virus. Telehealth, outpatient procedures, and biochemical tumor marker tests can help with mitigation of anorectal-disease-related problems. There is limited literature about the clinical management of anorectal diseases during the pandemic. We performed a detailed literature review to guide clinicians around management options for anorectal disease patients. We also highlighted the health challenges seen during the pandemic.