Purpose
To compare the clinical features and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the pre-variant and post-variant periods.
Methods
This prospective cohort study includes pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 who were followed-up at Ankara City Hospital between 11, March 2020 and 15, September 2021. Demographic features, clinical characteristics and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the pre-variant (
n
= 1416) and post-variant (
n
= 519) groups.
Results
The rates of severe and critical cases significantly increased in the post-variant group (9.7% vs 2%,
p
< 0.001). The rates of respiratory support (26.8% vs 7.3%,
p
< 0.001), ICU admission (12.9% vs 1.8%,
p
< 0.001) and maternal mortality (2.9% vs 0.4%,
p
< 0.001) were significantly higher in the post-variant group. A significant increase was observed for pregnancy complications in the post-variant group (45.6% vs 18.8%,
p
= 0.007). The rates of preterm delivery (26.4% vs 4.4%,
p
< 0.001) and NICU admission (34% vs 18.8%,
p
< 0.001) were significantly higher in the post-variant group. Positive, weak, statistically significant correlations were observed between the post-variant period, disease severity and maternal mortality (
r
= 0.19,
r
= 0.12 and
p
< 0.001).
Conclusion
Post-variant COVID-19 period was associated with a severe course of the disease and increased rates of adverse obstetric outcomes in pregnant patients.