COVID-19 infection not linked to adverse outcomes in pregnant women: JAMA

Dallas, Texas: A recent study has found that COVID-19 infection in pregnant women is not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. According to the study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, placental abnormalities were not associated with disease severity and the frequency of hospitalization was similar to rates among non-pregnant women.

Published data has suggested that in women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) there are increased placental abnormalities, hospitalizations and rare neonatal transmission. The aim of the study by Emily H. Adhikari, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, and colleagues evaluated the adverse outcomes associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pregnancy and to describe hospital admission, disease progression, clinical management, placental abnormalities, and neonatal outcomes.

For the purpose, the researchers conducted an observational cohort study of maternal and neonatal outcomes among delivered women with and without COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. The study was conducted from March 18 through August 22, 2020, at Parkland Health and Hospital System (Dallas, Texas). 

It included women who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy and delivered. 3374 pregnant women (mean [SD] age, 27.6 [6] years) tested for SARS-CoV-2 were delivered, including 252 who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 3122 who tested negative. For placental analysis, the pathologist was blinded to illness severity.