Universal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Testing for Obstetric Inpatient Units Across the United States
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to estimate prevalence of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among patients admitted to obstetric inpatient units throughout the United States as detected by universal screening. We sought to describe the relationship between obstetric inpatient asymptomatic infection rates and publicly available surrounding community infection rates. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in which medical centers reported rates of positive SARS-CoV-2 testing in asymptomatic pregnant and immediate postpartum patients over a 1-3-month time span in 2020. Publicly reported SARS-CoV-2 case rates from the relevant county and state for each center were collected from the COVID Act Now dashboard and the COVID Tracking Project for correlation analysis. RESULTS: Data were collected from 9 health centers, encompassing 18 hospitals. Participating health centers were located in Alabama, California, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington State. Each hospital had an active policy for universal SARS-CoV-2 testing on obstetric inpatient units. A total of 10 147 SARS-CoV-2 tests were administered, of which 124 were positive (1.2%). Positivity rates varied by site, ranging from 0-3.2%. While SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were lower in asymptomatic obstetric inpatient groups than the surrounding communities, there was a positive correlation between positivity rates in obstetric inpatient units and their surrounding county (P=.003, r=.782) and state (P=.007, r=.708). CONCLUSIONS: Given the correlation between community and obstetric inpatient rates, the necessity of SARS-CoV-2-related healthcare resource utilization in obstetric inpatient units may be best informed by surrounding community infection rates.
Source: Clinical Infectious Diseases
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab955
Authors: Jennifer Gilner, Namita Kansal, Joseph R Biggio, Shani Delaney, Chad A Grotegut, Erica Hardy, Adi Hirshberg, Alisa Kachikis, Sylvia M LaCourse, Jane Martin, Torri D Metz, Emily S Miller, Mary E Norton, Rachel Sinkey, Nasim C Sobhani, Shannon L Son, Sindhu Srinivas, Alan Tita, Erika F Werner, Brenna L Hughes
Institutions: Duke University, Ochsner Health System, Ochsner Medical Center, University of Washington, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah, Northwestern University, University of California, San Francisco, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Tufts Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3213228158