Comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes between COVID-19 positive and negative parturients who delivered in a tertiary hospital: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by novel coronavirus named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. Its growing number of cases with a very limited number of studies in the country is quite alarming, especially to the vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women.OBJECTIVE: To determine and compare the maternal and neonatal outcomes of COVID-19 positive versus negative parturient.MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: This is a retrospective cohort study of 131 parturient in a tertiary hospital.RESULTS: We analyzed a total of 131 patients, of whom 65 (49.6%) were COVID positive. At the time of testing, more than half were at their early term of pregnancy (64.89%) and at term (14.5%). Based on disease severity, 45 women (69.2%) exhibited mild disease, 39 were asymptomatic and 6 symptomatic, 19 (29.2%) moderate disease, and 1 (1.5%) severe disease. Among those symptomatic, the most common signs and symptoms were cough (33.85%), myalgia (10.77%), and a radiographic finding of localized or multilobar infiltrates (30.76%). Those who had laboratory examinations, the c-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer were found to be elevated. Based on maternal outcomes, there was a higher incidence of preterm birth (21.54%, P = 0.048) and longer length of hospital stay (P = 0.005) in the COVID-19-positive group. While the neonatal outcomes were similar in both groups, except for longer hospital stay, and delayed institution of breastfeeding among the COVID-19-positive group.CONCLUSION: In this study, there was no evidence that the presence of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy causes increased morbidity and mortality in mothers and their neonates. Close surveillance should be done on this population, especially if detected before term, as these patients are predisposed to having preterm labor. Further research is needed to understand the true extent of the risks to improve the management of these special population.