Temporal Trend in SARS-CoV-2 Symptoms in Pregnant Women.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine temporal trends in the clinical presentation of patients diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in pregnancy.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women who were universally screened for SARS-CoV-2 and tested positive. This multi-center study of admissions to labor and delivery units in New York City and Long Island included all SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women admitted to labor and delivery units between April 10th and June 4th 2020. Six Northwell Health hospitals and Maimonides Medical Center were included in the study. The main measures of the study included patient reports of COVID-19 symptoms: fever, cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. The main outcome measure was the percentage of all infected women who reported any of the above symptoms.

RESULTS

In total, 427 infected pregnant women were included in the study. There was a statistically significant decline in the percentage of patients presenting with any symptoms over the course of the study. In addition, disease severity, symptoms of fever, cough, and chest pain/shortness of breath also significantly declined over time, and no ICU admissions were noted after the third week of April.

CONCLUSION

There was a temporal shift away from symptomatic presentation in pregnant women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 over the course of the first months of the epidemic in New York. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the cause of this change in presentation among pregnant women, to determine whether this trend is also observed in other patient populations.

KEY POINTS

· Retrospective cohort review of 427 SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women admitted to labor and delivery units.. · A significant decline in the percentage of patients presenting with symptoms over time was noted.. · Further studies are necessary to elucidate the cause of this change in presentation.. · Theories for the noted trend: viral evolution, decreased viral inoculums, and prolonged polymerase chain reaction positivity..