Obstetric Complications and Neonatal Outcomes in Coronavirus Infections
Between March and April 2020, researchers conducted a scoping review following PRISMA guidelines to examine the impact of MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 on pregnant women. The review analyzed 20 articles encompassing a total of 102 cases to evaluate maternal clinical characteristics and neonatal outcomes during infectious disease outbreaks. Among the analyzed cases, 9 involved MERS-CoV, 14 involved SARS-CoV, and 79 involved SARS-CoV-2.
Fever and Pneumonia Prevalence in Infected Mothers
The analyzed data showed that fever and pneumonia were the most frequent clinical manifestations among infected pregnant women. Specifically, fever appeared in 75.5 percent of cases, while pneumonia occurred in 73.5 percent of the patients. The review established that all three coronaviruses produce pneumonia with very similar symptoms, although the illness proved milder in cases involving SARS-CoV-2.
Threat of Premature Delivery and Caesarean Section Rates
Obstetric complications accompanied these respiratory infections across the reviewed literature. The most frequent obstetric complications documented were the threat of premature delivery, occurring in 23.5 percent of the cases, and the delivery via caesarean section, which accounted for 74.5 percent of the procedures. Despite these documented interventions and risks, the investigation noted that neonatal outcomes were mostly favorable.
Absence of Vertical Transmission Across 102 Cases
A primary finding of the review concerned intrauterine transmission risk. Across all 102 examined cases involving MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, no vertical transmission was documented in any of the infants born to infected mothers. The authors concluded that increased knowledge is still needed to improve and prevent obstetric and neonatal complications arising from these viral infections in pregnant women.
Worth a look