Abstract General Information

Title

Evaluation of the lower urinary tract in children exposed to or infected with Zika virus during the fetal period

Introduction and objective

The ZV in Brazil has brought serious concerns about the Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome (CZS), a condition associated with infection by the virus during pregnancy. This syndrome is characterized by congenital malformations in the fetus, with microcephaly being the most evident. Additionally, other neurological problems that affect development may also be present.
Over the past 7 years, 10 articles have evaluated the urological sequelae secondary to CZS in postnatal development, as many structures in the central nervous system (CNS) that control the lower urinary tract have been affected in these babies. Preliminary results confirmed neurogenic bladder(BN) in 100% of children with CZS.
The studies assess urological sequelae secondary to CZS, but the extent of these sequelae in children without CZS but who were exposed or infected with ZV during pregnancy is still not clear. Considering that the structural damage observed in the CNS of children with CZS may be involved in functional damage in the urinary tract, and there are reports of late alterations impacting neuropsychomotor development in children exposed or infected with ZV during pregnancy without CZS, are there late dysfunctions in the urinary tract of these children?
Our objective is to evaluate and characterize probable sequelae in the urinary tract of children under seven years old belonging to the COORTE/ZIKA-Jundiaí, exposed or infected by the Zika Virus during the intrauterine period

Method

The research studied 30 cases from March 2021 to 2023, children from zero to seven years old, Coorte Zika Jundiaí/SP, with diagnosed with CZS or exposed or infected by ZV during the fetal period (without CZS), and then referred through convenience sampling.

Results

The urodynamic study (CMG) evaluated 5 patients with CZS, of which 100% presented neurogenic bladder; among the 25 children without CZS, the CMG performed on 10 without CZS showed 25% normal, 50% with delayed micturition, and 12.5% overactive bladder.

Conclusion

Investigating lower urinary tract dysfunction in children exposed to or infected by ZV is of utmost importance, as there is a gap in knowledge regarding the late sequelae caused by ZV,