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Review
. 2021 Mar;7(3):e06393.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06393. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the clinical outcomes and placental pathology of pregnant women and their infants: A systematic review

Irina Oltean  1 , Jason Tran  2 , Sarah Lawrence  1   2   3 , Brittany Ann Ruschkowski  2 , Na Zeng  2 , Cameron Bardwell  2 , Youssef Nasr  2 , Joseph de Nanassy  1   2   4 , Dina El Demellawy  1   2   4
Affiliations
Review

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the clinical outcomes and placental pathology of pregnant women and their infants: A systematic review

Irina Oltean et al. Heliyon. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Pregnant women are susceptible to viral infections due to physiological changes such as cell-mediated immunity. No severe adverse pregnancy or neonatal outcomes have been consistently reported in 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) positive pregnancy cases. There are controversies around the role of COVID-19 in pregnancy. A systematic review was conducted to examine clinical maternal and neonatal clinical outcomes. Studies were included if they reported SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women and/or COVID-19 positive neonates as validated by positive antibody testing or viral testing using polymerase chain reaction. Case series, case reports, case-control studies, and comparative studies were included. Eight hundred and thirty-seven records were identified, resulting in 525 records for level I screening. Forty-one were included after full-text review. Results suggest elevated rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, C-sections, pre-term birth, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in comparison to pregnant women without SARS-CoV-2. Careful monitoring of pregnancies with SARS-CoV-2 is recommended.

Keywords: COVID-19; Neonates; Placenta diseases; Placental pathology; Pregnant women; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram for Included Studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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