Clinical and Evolutionary Characteristics of Pregnant and Postpartum Women with COVID-19 Admitted to a Hospital in the Central Region of Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To describe the demographic and evolutionary characteristics of pregnant and postpartum women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to a medium-sized hospital in Brazil. Method: This is a descriptive and retrospective study, collected from medical records, from March 2020 to October 2021 in a hospital located in Cuiabá (MT). Results: Pregnant and puerperal women with COVID-19 who needed hospitalization were mixed-race, from the metropolitan area, and carriers of moderate and severe forms of the disease. The primary risk condition found was overweight/obesity, and pre-gestational diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and autoimmune disease were the most prevalent comorbidities in the group. Elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), c-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer were relevant laboratory findings in this group of patients. The most frequent maternal outcomes were respiratory failure, invasive ventilatory support, thromboembolic phenomena, sepsis, and preterm labor. Maternal death occurred in 6.4% of pregnant women. Most maternal deaths were of women who lived in the interior of the state, and the minority arrived on adequate ventilatory support. Prematurity and the need for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were significant complications for neonates. Stillbirth/neonatal mortality occurred in 11.0%. Conclusion: The clinical conditions at hospitalization were associated with worse living conditions and lack of access to health care, resulting in increased chances of severity and worsening outcomes in this group of women and neonates.