This study describes the primary maternal and perinatal outcomes among pregnant women hospitalised with COVID-19 in two sentinel centres in Venezuela. The mean age and trimester of pregnancy at the presentation of our pregnant women were similar to those reported in other studies [20, 21]. Obesity, hypertension, and diabetes were observed in similar frequencies to previously documented [21–23]. Co-infections have been shared in low- and middle-income countries [24, 25]. Here, a group of pregnant women reported co-infection with malaria and syphilis. Consistent with previous publications [20, 21, 26, 27], our study found that fever, headache, cough, and dyspnoea were the most frequent symptoms reported by pregnant women with COVID-19 at consultation and hospital admission.
Overall estimates in low-risk pregnancies for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are 4.6% and 1.4%, respectively, with wide variation between regions. In this study, hypertensive pregnancy syndrome was the most frequent maternal complication (17.5%), similar to previous reports [21, 28]. Likewise, studies in Latin America [21] and other regions of the world [14–16, 29] found that preterm delivery and low birth weight were the most frequent perinatal complications in our patient population. In our study, oligohydramnios was documented in almost one-third (31.3%) of pregnant women, which contrasts with other studies [21], where an incidence of 3% (10 times lower) was reported. That could be explained by the measurement method of this parameter, which may vary between institutions.
Although the low frequency of bacterial superinfection in patients with COVID-19 (6.9–8%) is documented [30, 31], our study reported that almost all (96.3%) pregnant women received at least one course of antibiotic therapy during their hospitalisation. However, indiscriminate antibiotic use during the pandemic has been the common denominator (71–90%) [31], a clinical practice that increases bacterial multidrug resistance [30, 32, 33]. On the other hand, the prothrombotic risk in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported previously [34]. Therefore, particular recommendations have been made on using antithrombotic prophylaxis or anticoagulation in pregnant women [35]. We found here a higher proportion of anticoagulant use in deceased pregnant women than in survivors. However, it is impossible to conclude because it is necessary to consider unassessed variables such as dose, disease severity, and even the timing of the pandemic, as the role and indication of antithrombotics in managing COVID-19 were unknown at the beginning of the pandemic.
There is evidence that corticosteroids reduce mortality, hospitalisation time, and use of mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients with supplemental oxygen requirements [36], so they have been applied as an indispensable tool, even in pregnant women [37]. In this study, more than one-third of pregnant women (37.5%) received some form of corticosteroid; however, the number is lower than that of pregnant women with supplemental oxygen requirements (52.5%). There is substantial evidence to support the use of corticosteroids in pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery [30], one of the complications with the highest incidence in our study.
This study has multiple limitations. In the first place, the design of the retrospective study did not allow obtaining the direct cause of maternal death due to the need for the availability of information in medical records. Similarly, not all the paraclinical studies of pregnant women were obtained, limiting their analysis. Second, it includes a small number of patients, which limits the multivariable analysis design for identifying risk factors associated with mortality. Third, despite including pregnant women from two sentinel centres for the care of patients with COVID-19, our results cannot be extrapolated to the general population since the availability of intensive care beds varies between different hospitals as the complexity of caring for pregnant women. Finally, it is possible that the clinician’s decision was decisive at the time of patient admission, leading him to admit pregnant women with COVID-19 with mild symptoms only for surveillance and foetal evaluation, so the additional admission criteria of each institution and even between each specialist limit the interpretation of our results. Therefore, prospective, longitudinal, and multicentre studies are needed to understand better the factors associated with maternal mortality from COVID-19 in Venezuela.