• Eur. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. · Sep 2020

    Universal screening for SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women at term admitted to an East London maternity unit.

    • Sanduni Abeysuriya, Samreen Wasif, Callum Counihan, Neha Shah, Stamatina Iliodromiti, Maria-Teresa Cutino-Moguel, Ferha Saeed, and Luxmimalar Velauthar.
    • Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust, Glen Rd, London, E13 8SL, United Kingdom. Electronic address: sanduni.abeysuriya@nhs.net.
    • Eur. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 2020 Sep 1; 252: 444-446.

    ObjectiveTo explore the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 in the maternity population.Study DesignNewham University Hospital based in East London serving a population with the highest death rate secondary to SARS-CoV-2 in the UK, commenced universal screening of all admissions to the Maternity Unit from 22nd April to 5th May, 2020. A proforma was created to capture key patient demographics, indication for admission and presence of SARS-CoV-2 related symptoms at the point of presentation.ResultsA total of 180 women with a mean age of 29.9 (SD 7.4) years, at a median gestation of 39 (IQR 37 + 1-40 + 3) weeks underwent universal screening with nasopharyngeal PCR swabs during the two-week period of the study. BAME identity or parity was not associated with the likelihood of a positive result. Seven women (3.9 %, 1.6-7.8) were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 6 (3.3 %, 1.2-7.1) were asymptomatic; 85.7 % (42.1-99.6) of the SARS-CoV-2 positive women were asymptomatic. The sensitivity of symptom-driven testing was 14.3 % (0.36-57.87) and specificity was 91.86 % (86.72-95.48) with a positive predictive value of 6.67 % (1.08-31.95) and a negative predictive value of 96.34 % (95.10-97.28).ConclusionThe prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the maternity population served by Newham University Hospital was 3.9 %, four weeks after lockdown. Of the women who were found to be SARS-CoV-2 positive, a high proportion (87.9 %) were asymptomatic. These findings support the need for universal testing to enable targeted isolation and robust infectious control measures to mitigate outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in maternity units.Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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