Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With Serious Maternal Morbidity and Mortality From Obstetric Complications.

Metz, Torri D.; Clifton, Rebecca G.; Hughes, Brenna L.; Sandoval, Grecio J.; Grobman, William A.; Saade, George R.; Manuck, Tracy A.; Longo, Monica; Sowles, Amber; Clark, Kelly; Simhan, Hyagriv N.; Rouse, Dwight J.; Mendez-Figueroa, Hector; Gyamfi-Bannerman, Cynthia; Bailit, Jennifer L.; Costantine, Maged M.; Sehdev, Harish M.; Tita, Alan T. N.; Macones, George A.; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network

<bold>Importance: </bold>It remains unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 infection specifically increases the risk of serious obstetric morbidity.<bold>Objective: </bold>To evaluate the association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with serious maternal morbidity or mortality from common obstetric complications.<bold>Design, Setting, and Participants: </bold>Retrospective cohort study of 14 104 pregnant and postpartum patients delivered between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020 (with final follow-up to February 11, 2021), at 17 US hospitals participating in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Gestational Research Assessments of COVID-19 (GRAVID) Study. All patients with SARS-CoV-2 were included and compared with those without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result who delivered on randomly selected dates over the same period.<bold>Exposures: </bold>SARS-CoV-2 infection was based on a positive nucleic acid or antigen test result. Secondary analyses further stratified those with SARS-CoV-2 infection by disease severity.<bold>Main Outcomes and Measures: </bold>The primary outcome was a composite of maternal death or serious morbidity related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, postpartum hemorrhage, or infection other than SARS-CoV-2. The main secondary outcome was cesarean birth.<bold>Results: </bold>Of the 14 104 included patients (mean age, 29.7 years), 2352 patients had SARS-CoV-2 infection and 11 752 did not have a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Compared with those without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result, SARS-CoV-2 infection was significantly associated with the primary outcome (13.4% vs 9.2%; difference, 4.2% [95% CI, 2.8%-5.6%]; adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.41 [95% CI, 1.23-1.61]). All 5 maternal deaths were in the SARS-CoV-2 group. SARS-CoV-2 infection was not significantly associated with cesarean birth (34.7% vs 32.4%; aRR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.99-1.11]). Compared with those without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result, moderate or higher COVID-19 severity (n = 586) was significantly associated with the primary outcome (26.1% vs 9.2%; difference, 16.9% [95% CI, 13.3%-20.4%]; aRR, 2.06 [95% CI, 1.73-2.46]) and the major secondary outcome of cesarean birth (45.4% vs 32.4%; difference, 12.8% [95% CI, 8.7%-16.8%]; aRR, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.07-1.28]), but mild or asymptomatic infection (n = 1766) was not significantly associated with the primary outcome (9.2% vs 9.2%; difference, 0% [95% CI, -1.4% to 1.4%]; aRR, 1.11 [95% CI, 0.94-1.32]) or cesarean birth (31.2% vs 32.4%; difference, -1.4% [95% CI, -3.6% to 0.8%]; aRR, 1.00 [95% CI, 0.93-1.07]).<bold>Conclusions and Relevance: </bold>Among pregnant and postpartum individuals at 17 US hospitals, SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with an increased risk for a composite outcome of maternal mortality or serious morbidity from obstetric complications.

CORONAVIRUS diseases; MATERNAL mortality; PREGNANCY complications; PUERPERAL disorders; HEMORRHAGE; HEALTH outcome assessment

JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2022, Vol 327, Issue 8, p748

0098-7484

Academic Journal

10.1001/jama.2022.1190