SARS-CoV-2 is the novel member of coronavirus responsible for the worldwide pandemic COVID-19, affecting all types of people. In this context, established research identified pregnant women as a susceptible group of SARS-CoV-2 infection, although there is still limited data regarding the real impact of COVID-19 in this group. With that purpose, we conducted a systematic review describing the maternal-fetal results of pregnant women infected by SARS-CoV-2, in aim to analyze the profile of the obstetric patients according to the country of origin of the publication. A total of 38 articles were included in this systematic review with 2670 patients from 7 countries, with 20 works published from China (52.6%). We reported significative differences according to the median maternal age, with Spain as the country with the highest age (34.6 years); The percentage of tabaquism; proportion of symptomatic patients in the triage; type of radiological exam (China and France conduct CT scans on all their patients in comparison to the use of chest X-Ray in the rest of the countries studied); percentages of C-sections (83.9% in China; 35.9% Spain, p < 0.001); maternal mortality rate, proportion of patients who need treatments, the use of antivirals, antibiotics, and anticoagulants as well as measurements of the newborns. Perinatal results are favorable in the majority of countries, with very low rates of vertical transmission in the majority of works. The studies collected in this review showed moderate to high index of quality. The different works describe the affectation during the first wave of the pandemic, where the pregnant woman with SARS-CoV-2 infection is generally symptomatic during the third trimester of gestation along with other factors associated with worse prognosis of the disease, such as higher age, body mass index, and further comorbidities developed during pregnancy. In the obstetric patient, proportion of C-sections are elevated together with prematurity, increasing maternal perinatal morbimortality. Differences found between countries could be based on the proper profile of the patient in each region, the period of the pandemic directly affecting how it was managed, and the variations regarding in situ medical attention.

This study was designed to examine maternal-perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) according to the result of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and to investigate possible variables that could be useful for predicting a negative RT-PCR result. Participants of this retrospective cohort study were obstetrics patients with suspected COVID-19 who underwent an RT-PCR test in a tertiary hospital in Madrid, Spain. Maternal-perinatal features were analysed according to the results of this test. Clinical, radiological and analytical characteristics that could be associated with a negative result were also explored. In a final subgroup analysis, patients were included if they had pneumonia and a negative test result for the virus. Out of the 111 obstetric patients with suspected COVID-19 that were enrolled, 38.7% returned a negative result. In this RT-PCR-negative group, we recorded lower rates of pneumonia (21.4% vs. 45.6%, p = 0.009), severe or critical clinical features (4.7% vs. 11.8% and 0.0% vs. 5.9%, p = 0.02, respectively), lower lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels (168 UI/L vs. 224.5 UI/L, p = 0.003), a greater need for maternal treatment (60.3% vs 24.4%, p < 0.001), a reduced need for oxygen therapy (2.4% vs 28.8%, p < 0.001) and a lower rate of intensive care unit admission (0.0% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.046) than the RT-PCR-positive group. While no differences were found in other variables, the monocyte count was higher (946.2/μL vs. 518.8/μL, p = 0.022) in this group. The predictive model for a negative test result included the monocyte count, LDH level and no need for oxygen therapy. This model was able to identify 73.5% of patients with a negative RT-PCR result. Only 11% of the patients with pneumonia testing negative for the virus had IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The proportion of pregnant women with suspected COVID-19 and a negative RT-PCR result was nearly 39%. In these patients, the symptoms were mild and the systemic severity of the disease was lower. The monocyte count, LDH level and no need for oxygen therapy were the factors that were more related to a negative test result in this group. These variables could be used to guide the management of patients with suspected COVID-19, mainly while waiting for RT-PCR results or in settings where this test is not available.

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During 2020, Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) incidence fluctuated in two clear waves across the spring and autumn periods. This study was designed to compare the maternal and perinatal clinical outcomes in obstetrics patients with COVID-19 between the two waves of infection in Spain. We conducted an observational, analytical, ambispective cohort study with longitudinal follow-up of mothers with confirmed SARV-CoV-2 infection from different hospitals in our country between March–November 2020. We recruited 1295 pregnant women with SARS-CoV2 infection from 78 hospitals, 846 (65.3%) of whom were diagnosed during the first wave and 449 (34.7%) during the second wave. Our results show that patients developing COVID-19 during the first wave had more symptoms at triage, early in pregnancy with greater rates of COVID-19-related maternal morbidity; caesarean section and preterm birth in the first wave. We register two cases of maternal mortality and only during the first wave. Maternal morbidity events showed a strong link to perinatal mortality events in the first wave compared to the second wave, in which maternal morbidity was more associated with pneumonia. Likewise, maternal morbidity showed a strong correlation with perinatal morbidity events in both waves. We describe the differences between the patients’ profiles and management between the two waves and related to maternal and perinatal outcomes. Differences were also observed in the management of pregnant women with COVID-19. Thus, there were fewer caesarean sections, and maternal and perinatal morbidity events were reduced in the second wave, while the impacts of respiratory symptoms and their severity, including a greater need for maternal treatment, were greater in this last period. Identifying the impact that changes in the profile as well as in the treatment have on maternal–perinatal morbidity and mortality will help improve the well-being of our patients and their newborns.

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