Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Maternal-Foetal Outcomes of Pregnant Women with COVID-19 Admitted to Hospital Sungai Buloh, Malaysia: A Single-Centre Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Malaysia was hit by one of the biggest waves of COVID-19 in year 2021, the worst-case morbidity and mortality since the pandemic started in 2020. Hospital Sungai Buloh (HSB), Selangor was the first hospital designed to treat COVID-19 cases only and was the referral centre for COVID-19 in the Klang Valley, hence all pregnant patients with COVID-19 in Selangor was referred here for treatment and care. This study aims to describe the characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted to HSB, and to identify the risk factors associated with severe outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a single centre, retrospective cohort study whereby electronic records of pregnant patients with COVID-19 admitted to HSB from May to August 2021 were searched and data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, management, complication and outcomes of the mother and foetal were retrieved. RESULTS: Out of 282, 66 women had severe covid-19 (stage 4 &5) and 216 had non-severe COVID-19 (stage 1-3). We found that pregnant patients with severe COVID-19 infection are more likely to be obese, have lower absolute lymphocyte counts and higher C-reactive protein (>50) on admission, and higher day of illness on admission. CONCLUSION: Severe COVID-19 resulted in longer hospital stay, associated with higher disease related complications and adverse maternal and foetal outcomes. However, vertical transmission is rare although possible in COVID-19. Our study provides a valuable local data from a single COVID-19 centre in Malaysia