Universal SARS-Cov-2 Screening in Women Admitted for Delivery in a Large Managed Care Organization

Abstract

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created a need for data regarding the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pregnant women. After implementing universal screening for COVID-19 in women admitted for delivery, we sought to describe the characteristics of COVID-19 in this large cohort of women.

Study Design An observational study of women admitted to labor and delivery units in Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) hospitals between April 6 and May 11, 2020 who were universally offered testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 3,963). Hospital inpatient and outpatient physician encounter, and laboratory records were used to ascertain universal testing levels, test results, and medical and obstetrical histories. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was estimated from the number of women who tested positive during labor per 100 women delivered.

Results Of women delivered during the study period, 3,923 (99.0%) underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing. A total of 17 (0.43%; 95% confidence interval: 0.23–0.63%) women tested positive, and none of them were symptomatic on admission. There was no difference in terms of characteristics between SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative tested women. One woman developed a headache attributed to COVID-19 3 days postpartum. No neonates had a positive test at 24 hours of life.

Conclusion The findings suggest that in pregnant women admitted for delivery between April 6 and May 11, 2020 in this large integrated health care system in Southern California, prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 test positive was very low and all patients were asymptomatic on admission.

Key Points

• The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large diverse cohort of term pregnant women was 0.43%.

• 99% of women accepted SARS-CoV-2 screening on admission to labor and delivery.

• All women with positive test results were asymptomatic at the time of testing.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2 - pregnancy - COVID-19 - screening

Publication History

Received: 28 May 2020

Accepted: 11 June 2020

Article published online:
03 July 2020

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