Study examines the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in pregnant women


Date:
June 15, 2020
Source:
Massachusetts General Hospital
Summary:
A new paper reports on the prevalence of infections with the
SARS-CoV- 2 virus in women admitted to labor and delivery units
in several Boston hospitals.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Universal testing of pregnant women admitted to labor and delivery units
is part of a multipronged approach to reducing transmission of the virus
that causes COVID-19 in hospitals and clinics.


==========================================================================
A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital has now
provided a report on the prevalence of infections with the virus in
women admitted to such units in several Boston hospitals. The findings
are published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Universal testing in the labor and delivery units began more than 30
days after physical distancing orders were placed in Massachusetts.

Over 18 days of universal testing in units at the four major hospitals affiliated with Mass General Brigham Health (which provides maternity
care to approximately 14,750 women per year), 757 women were tested. Of
those tested, 139 had symptoms possibly consistent with COVID-19.

Among symptomatic women, 7.9% tested positive (11 women) for SARS-CoV-2,
the virus that causes COVID-19. Among asymptomatic women, 1.5% tested
positive (9 women).

Thus, 9 of the 20 women -- or 45% -- who tested positive at admission
had no symptoms of COVID-19. Across the four hospitals, none of the
positive asymptomatic women developed COVID-19 symptoms during their hospitalization, and all 9 newborns tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2.

"Although our results indicate a low prevalence of SARS Cov-2 in an asymptomatic pregnant population, my coauthors and I believe that
universal testing of this population can provide a window into the
community prevalence of infection, which can in turn help guide
decision-making about moving between mitigation versus containment
measures in the hospital and in the community," said lead author Ilona
Telefus Goldfarb, MD, MPH, a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist at Mass
General and Harvard Medical School.

The researchers noted that universal testing in this specific patient population is an especially important public health priority given the potential dangers of COVID-19 for maternal and newborn care during and
after birth.

"Our findings underscore the importance of understanding the local
prevalence of disease, which varies across geographical areas and will
change over time due to many factors. Tracking prevalence prospectively
can inform public health interventions and our approaches to testing,"
said co-senior author Erica Shenoy, MD, PhD, Associate Chief of Mass
General's Infection Control Unit and an Assistant Professor of Medicine
at Harvard Medical School.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Massachusetts_General_Hospital. Original written by Brian Burns. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ilona Telefus Goldfarb, Khady Diouf, William H. Barth, Julian N.

Robinson, Daniel Katz, Katherine E. Gregory, Andrea Ciaranello,
Sigal Yawetz, Erica S. Shenoy, Michael Klompas. Universal SARS-CoV-2
testing on admission to the labor and delivery unit: Low prevalence
among asymptomatic obstetric patients. Infection Control & Hospital
Epidemiology, 2020; 1 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.255 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615140826.htm

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