Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2023 Jul 17;69(7):e20230084.
doi: 10.1590/1806-9282.20230084. eCollection 2023.

Screening for coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women admitted for delivery: an observational study

Ana Nery Melo Cavalcante  1   2   3 , Rosa Lívia Freitas de Almeida  2 , Denise Nunes Oliveira  3 , Danielle Malta Lima  3   4 , Candice Torres de Melo Bezerra Cavalcante  1   3 , Lohanna Valeska de Sousa Tavares  1 , Renata Parente Almeida  5 , Rosângela Pinheiro Gonçalves Machado  1   3 , Edward Araujo Júnior  6   7 , Marcelo Borges Cavalcante  1   3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Screening for coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women admitted for delivery: an observational study

Ana Nery Melo Cavalcante et al. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). .

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of symptom-based screening on the prevalence and outcomes of neonatal coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women admitted for delivery.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted from June to August 2020 at Gonzaga Mota of Messejana Hospital, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. All pregnant women were screened for coronavirus disease 2019 based on symptoms. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or immunology assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were performed when a patient reported a symptom. All newborns of symptomatic patients were submitted for Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Newborns were divided into groups according to the Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results to identify the relationship between maternal symptoms and neonatal coronavirus disease 2019.

Results: A total of 55 (55/1,026, 5.4%) and 50 (50/1,026, 4.8%) pregnant women reported symptoms and had a positive confirmatory test, respectively. The most common symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 among the pregnant women with positive confirmatory test was cough (n=23, 46%). Seven newborns (7/50, 14%) of symptomatic mothers had positive Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Upon birth, no newborn had serious complications.

Conclusion: Universal screening of pregnant women admitted for delivery can reduce the perinatal transmission of coronavirus disease 2019. Symptom-based screening can be an alternative for regions with a low prevalence of the disease where a better allocation of financial resources is necessary.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: the authors declare there is no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Patients’ flowchart. From June to August 2020, 1,026 pregnant women were admitted for delivery. A total of 55 pregnant women reported a history or symptoms related to coronavirus disease 2019. Additionally, 50 pregnant women had a positive confirmatory test. Thirty-one pregnant women tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019. Moreover, 7/50 newborns from symptomatic mothers had a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Five were neonates of mothers with positive coronavirus disease 2019 laboratory investigation, and two were neonates of pregnant women with negative coronavirus disease 2019 laboratory investigation. There was no significant difference between these groups in the prevalence of neonatal coronavirus disease 2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gheblawi M, Wang K, Viveiros A, Nguyen Q, Zhong JC, Turner AJ, et al. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2: SARS-CoV-2 receptor and regulator of the renin-angiotensin system: celebrating the 20th anniversary of the discovery of ACE2. Circ Res. 2020;126(10):1456–74. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.317015. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu YC, Chen CS, Chan YJ. The outbreak of COVID-19: an overview. J Chin Med Assoc. 2020;83(3):217–20. doi: 10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000270. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . WHO coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dashboard. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. [[cited on Jan 26, 2021]]. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/
    1. Jin Y, Yang H, Ji W, Wu W, Chen S, Zhang W, et al. Virology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and control of COVID-19. Viruses. 2020;12(4):372. doi: 10.3390/v12040372. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Díaz-Corvillón P, Mönckeberg M, Barros A, Illanes SE, Soldati A, Nien JK, et al. Routine screening for SARS CoV-2 in unselected pregnant women at delivery. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0239887. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239887. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types