COVID-19 in pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Several reports highlighted the risk of infection and disease in pregnant women and neonates. To assess the risk of clinical complications in pregnant women and neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2 carrying out a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Search of the scientific evidence was performed using the engines PubMed and Scopus, including articles published from December 2019 to 15 April 2020. Only observational studies focused on the assessment of clinical outcomes associated with pregnancy in COVID-19 women were selected. The first screening was based on the assessment of titles and abstracts, followed by the evaluation of full-texts. Qualitative variables were summarized with frequencies, whereas quantitative variables with central and variability indicators depending on their parametric distribution. Forest plots were used to describe point estimates and in-between studies variability. Study quality assessment was performed. Thirteen studies were selected. All of them were carried out in China. The mean (SD) age and gestational age of pregnant women were 30.3 (1.5) years and 35.9 (2.9) weeks, respectively. The mean (SD) duration from the first symptoms to the hospital admission and to labour were 5.5 (2.0) and 9.5 (8.7) days, respectively. Patients mainly complained of fever and cough (pooled (95 % CI) proportions were 76.0 % (57.0 %-90.0 %) and 38.0 (28.0 %-47.0 %), respectively). Several antibiotics, antivirals, and corticosteroids were prescribed in different combinations. The pooled prevalence of maternal complications and of caesarean section were 45.0 % (95 % CI: 24.0 %-67.0 %) and 88.0 % (95 %CI: 82.0 %-94.0 %). A proportion of pregnant women less than 20 % were admitted to ICU. The pooled proportion of preterm infants was 23.0 % (95 %CI: 11.0 %-39.0 %). The most frequent neonatal complications were pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. The pooled percentage of infected neonates was 6.0 % (95 %CI: 2.0 %-12.0 %). The present study suggests a high rate of maternal and neonatal complications in infected individuals. However, the current scientific evidence highlights a low risk of neonatal infection. Multicentre, cohort studies are needed to better elucidate the role of SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy.

Capobianco G ，Saderi L ，Aliberti S ，Mondoni M ，Piana A ，Dessole F ，Dessole M ，Cherchi PL ，Dessole S ，Sotgiu G ... -  《-》

Effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcome: systematic review.

To evaluate the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcome by performing a systematic review of available published literature on pregnancies affected by COVID-19. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on pregnancy, perinatal and neonatal outcome. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database and Wan Fang Data up to and including 20 April 2020 (studies were identified through PubMed alert after that date). For the search strategy, combinations of the following keywords and medical subject heading (MeSH) terms were used: 'SARS-CoV-2', 'COVID-19', 'coronavirus disease 2019', 'pregnancy', 'gestation', 'maternal', 'mother', 'vertical transmission', 'maternal-fetal transmission', 'intrauterine transmission', 'neonate', 'infant' and 'delivery'. Eligibility criteria included laboratory-confirmed and/or clinically diagnosed COVID-19, patient being pregnant on admission and availability of clinical characteristics, including at least one maternal, perinatal or neonatal outcome. Exclusion criteria were non-peer-reviewed or unpublished reports, unspecified date and location of the study, suspicion of duplicate reporting and unreported maternal or perinatal outcomes. No language restrictions were applied. We identified a high number of relevant case reports and case series, but only 24 studies, including a total of 324 pregnant women with COVID-19, met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. These comprised nine case series (eight consecutive) and 15 case reports. A total of 20 pregnant patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included in the case reports. In the combined data from the eight consecutive case series, including 211 (71.5%) cases of laboratory-confirmed and 84 (28.5%) of clinically diagnosed COVID-19, the maternal age ranged from 20 to 44 years and the gestational age on admission ranged from 5 to 41 weeks. The most common symptoms at presentation were fever, cough, dyspnea/shortness of breath, fatigue and myalgia. The rate of severe pneumonia reported amongst the case series ranged from 0% to 14%, with the majority of the cases requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Almost all cases from the case series had positive computed tomography chest findings. All six and 22 cases that had nucleic-acid testing in vaginal mucus and breast milk samples, respectively, were negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Only four cases of spontaneous miscarriage or termination were reported. In the consecutive case series, 219/295 women had delivered at the time of reporting and 78% of them had Cesarean section. The gestational age at delivery ranged from 28 to 41 weeks. Apgar scores at both 1 and 5 min ranged from 7 to 10. Only eight neonates had birth weight < 2500 g and nearly one-third of neonates were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. There was one case of neonatal asphyxia and death. In 155 neonates that had nucleic-acid testing in throat swab, all, except three cases, were negative for SARS-CoV-2. There were no cases of maternal death in the eight consecutive case series. Seven maternal deaths, four intrauterine fetal deaths (one with twin pregnancy) and two neonatal deaths (twin pregnancy) were reported in a non-consecutive case series of nine cases with severe COVID-19. In the case reports, two maternal deaths, one neonatal death and two cases of neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported. Despite the increasing number of published studies on COVID-19 in pregnancy, there are insufficient good-quality data to draw unbiased conclusions with regard to the severity of the disease or specific complications of COVID-19 in pregnant women, as well as vertical transmission, perinatal and neonatal complications. In order to answer specific questions in relation to the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their fetuses, through meaningful good-quality research, we urge researchers and investigators to present complete outcome data and reference previously published cases in their publications, and to record such reporting when the data of a case are entered into one or several registries. © 2020 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Juan J ，Gil MM ，Rong Z ，Zhang Y ，Yang H ，Poon LC ... -  《-》

Rates of Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Vertical Transmission in Pregnancies Complicated by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co-V-2) Infection: A Systematic Review.

Huntley BJF ，Huntley ES ，Di Mascio D ，Chen T ，Berghella V ，Chauhan SP ... -  《-》

Outcome of coronavirus spectrum infections (SARS, MERS, COVID-19) during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this systematic review was to report pregnancy and perinatal outcomes of coronavirus spectrum infections, and particularly coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease because of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection during pregnancy. Medline, Embase, Cinahl, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched electronically utilizing combinations of word variants for coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS or Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS or COVID-19 and pregnancy. The search and selection criteria were restricted to English language. Inclusion criteria were hospitalized pregnant women with a confirmed coronavirus related-illness, defined as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), or COVID-19. We used meta-analyses of proportions to combine data and reported pooled proportions, so that a pooled proportion may not coincide with the actual raw proportion in the results. The pregnancy outcomes observed included miscarriage, preterm birth, preeclampsia, preterm prelabor rupture of membranes, fetal growth restriction, and mode of delivery. The perinatal outcomes observed were fetal distress, Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes, neonatal asphyxia, admission to a neonatal intensive care unit, perinatal death, and evidence of vertical transmission. Nineteen studies including 79 hospitalized women were eligible for this systematic review: 41 pregnancies (51.9%) affected by COVID-19, 12 (15.2%) by MERS, and 26 (32.9%) by SARS. An overt diagnosis of pneumonia was made in 91.8%, and the most common symptoms were fever (82.6%), cough (57.1%), and dyspnea (27.0%). For all coronavirus infections, the pooled proportion of miscarriage was 64.7% (8/12; 95% confidence interval, 37.9-87.3), although reported only for women affected by SARS in two studies with no control group; the pooled proportion of preterm birth <37 weeks was 24.3% (14/56; 95% confidence interval, 12.5-38.6); premature prelabor rupture of membranes occurred in 20.7% (6/34; 95% confidence interval, 9.5-34.9), preeclampsia in 16.2% (2/19; 95% confidence interval, 4.2-34.1), and fetal growth restriction in 11.7% (2/29; 95% confidence interval, 3.2-24.4), although reported only for women affected by SARS; 84% (50/58) were delivered by cesarean; the pooled proportion of perinatal death was 11.1% (5/60; 95% confidence interval, 84.8-19.6), and 57.2% of newborns (3/12; 95% confidence interval, 3.6-99.8) were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. When focusing on COVID-19, the most common adverse pregnancy outcome was preterm birth <37 weeks, occurring in 41.1% of cases (14/32; 95% confidence interval, 25.6-57.6), while the pooled proportion of perinatal death was 7.0% (2/41; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-16.3). None of the 41 newborns assessed showed clinical signs of vertical transmission. In hospitalized mothers infected with coronavirus infections, including COVID-19, >90% of whom also had pneumonia, preterm birth is the most common adverse pregnancy outcome. COVID-19 infection was associated with higher rate (and pooled proportions) of preterm birth, preeclampsia, cesarean, and perinatal death. There have been no published cases of clinical evidence of vertical transmission. Evidence is accumulating rapidly, so these data may need to be updated soon. The findings from this study can guide and enhance prenatal counseling of women with COVID-19 infection occurring during pregnancy, although they should be interpreted with caution in view of the very small number of included cases.

Di Mascio D ，Khalil A ，Saccone G ，Rizzo G ，Buca D ，Liberati M ，Vecchiet J ，Nappi L ，Scambia G ，Berghella V ，D'Antonio F ... -  《-》

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.

To review published studies related to the association of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections with pregnancy, foetal, and neonatal outcomes during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in a systematic manner. A comprehensive electronic search was done through PubMed, Scopus, Medline, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar from December 01, 2019, to May 22, 2020, along with the reference list of all included studies. All cohort studies that reported on outcomes of COVID-19 during pregnancy were included. Qualitative assessment of included studies was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Upon admission, most pregnant women underwent a low-dose radiation CT scan; the reports of which included unilateral/bilateral pneumonia in most patients. A marked lymphopenia was also noted in many patients with COVID-19. 513 titles were screened, and 22 studies were included, which identified 156 pregnant women with COVID-19 and 108 neonatal outcomes. The most common maternal/foetal complications included intrauterine/foetal distress (14%) and premature rupture of membranes (8%). The neonatal clinical manifestations of COVID-19 commonly included shortness of breath (6%), gastrointestinal symptoms (4%), and fever (3%). COVID-19 infection in pregnancy leads to increased risk in pregnancy complications such as preterm birth, PPROM, and may possibly lead to maternal death in rare cases. There is no evidence to support vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection to the unborn child. Due to a paucity of inconsistent data regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the newborn, caution should be undertaken to further investigate and monitor possible infection in the neonates born to COVID-19-infected mothers.

Akhtar H ，Patel C ，Abuelgasim E ，Harky A ... -  《-》