Abstract
Objective Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a highly contagious respiratory
viral infection that affects all individuals, although neonates are considered to
be the most susceptible populations; therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate
the clinical outcome and association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive
mothers and newborns.
Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at a dedicated COVID-19 tertiary care hospital
in India over a period of 1 year. The pregnant mothers infected with COVID-19 virus
were enrolled with their newborn baby up to the age of 28 days. COVID-19 test was
done by using a rapid antigen kit and further confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase
chain reaction.
Results Prevalence of COVID-19-positive newborns born of COVID-19-positive mothers is reported
at 8.4%. Female:male ratio was found to be 1:1.2. Raised D-dimer (88.9%) and C-reactive
protein (88.9%) were the most common findings in COVID-19-positive newborns followed
by leucopenia (33.3%). Among the COVID-19 newborns, Apgar score less than or equal
to 7 and respiratory distress were found in 55.6 and 33.3%, respectively. Out of 9
COVID-19-positive newborns, two (22.2%) were expired, and out of 98 COVID-19-negative
newborns, 4(4.1%) were expired.
Conclusion This study revealed that severity of maternal symptoms is related to mortality of
newborns. About 22.2% COVID-19-positive newborns expired, whereas 4.1% of COVID-19-negative
newborns expired so risk of mortality increased among COVID-19-positive neonates as
compared with negative ones. However, this study was conducted on a small sample size
and further research with larger populations is needed to validate these findings.
Keywords
COVID-19 - APGAR score - respiratory distress - SARS-CoV-2
