Female sexual function before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

PurposeTo compare the female sexual function before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).MethodsRelevant studies were retrieved by online databases and manual searching reporting FSFI scores before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The methodological quality of reviewed articles was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and heterogeneity with the I2 statistic. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by random-effect meta-analyses.ResultsFour studies met the inclusion criteria reporting 1002 sexually active non-pregnant women comparing results of the 19-item FSFI. The meta-analysis of the overall FSFI score showed an SMD (95% CI) of -1.16 (-1.97 to -0.35), comparing the pandemic with the pre-pandemic scores. In addition, SMD scores for the FSFI domains were also significantly lower during the pandemic for arousal -0.80 (-1.13 to -0.48), orgasm -0.66 (-1.07 to -0.25), satisfaction -0.59 (-0.97 to -0.22), and pain -0.35 (-0.54 to -0.16), whereas there were not significant differences for desire and lubrication domains. There was a low risk of bias and the sensitivity analysis suggests that results are robust.ConclusionThe available studies showed a lower overall FSFI score during the pandemic, suggesting an increased risk of female sexual dysfunction compared to prepandemic results. Also, there were increased risks of sexual arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain disorders. However, there were no alterations in the desire and the lubrication domains. Limitations are related to the heterogeneity populations, and pandemic confounding and aggravating factors.

Obstetric and perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with COVID 19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis aimed at comparing obstetric and perinatal outcomes in laboratory-tested pregnant women for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection before delivering. METHOD: We performed a comprehensive systematic review of electronic databases for studies reporting pregnant women with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection, as determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) before delivery, during the pandemic period published up to June 25, 2021. Results are reported as mean difference (MD) or odds ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Seventeen observational studies with low to moderate risk of bias, reported on 2,769 pregnant women with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test and 13,807 with a negative test. Pregnant women with a positive PCR test delivered at an earlier gestational age (MD -0.19; 95% CI -0.36 to -0.02 weeks), smoked less (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.94) and were associated with higher odds for preeclampsia (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.09-1.54), NICU admissions (OR 2.37; 95% CI 1.18-4.76), stillbirths (OR 2.70; 95% CI, 1.38-5.29), and perinatal mortality (OR 3.23; 95% CI 1.23-8.52). There were no significant differences between positive and negative tested women in terms of nulliparity, multiple pregnancies, gestational diabetes, route of delivery, labor induction, preterm birth, infant birth weight, 5 min Apgar scores < 7, small-for-gestational-age infants and fetal malformations. Eleven studies included neonatal PCR SARS-CoV-2 testing which was performed on 129 infants, of which 20 were positive. CONCLUSION: Positive SARS-CoV-2 tested pregnant women had higher odds for preeclampsia/hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, NICU admissions, stillbirths and perinatal mortality.

Screening of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection during labor and delivery using polymerase chain reaction and immunoglobulin testing.

AIMS: To assess severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during labor and delivery with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and using immunoglobulin G and M testing to correlate with maternal and perinatal outcomes. MAIN METHODS: Pregnant women admitted for labor and delivery at two Spanish hospitals were screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection by PCR test and by detection of serum immunoglobulins G and M. Maternal and perinatal outcomes were compared in women with laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection with those with negative tests. KEY FINDINGS: Between March 31st and September 30th, 2020, 1211 pregnant women were screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The prevalence of laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 5.4% (n = 65), corresponding to (i) 22 ongoing infections at admission, including two with mild clinical symptoms and 20 asymptomatic women; (ii) 43 cases of previous SARS-CoV-2 exposure; (iii) and 1146 women who were negative for both SARS-CoV-2 PCR and serological test. None of the screened mothers required hospital admission for coronavirus disease before or after delivery, nor were any of the newborns admitted to the intensive care unit. All newborns from mothers with positive PCR on admission were PCR negative. There were no significant differences in maternal or perinatal outcomes among the three studied groups. SIGNIFICANCE: Ongoing or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection with asymptomatic or mild clinical symptoms detected during screening in pregnant women at labor and delivery do not have a higher rate of adverse maternal or perinatal outcomes.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) universal screening in gravids during labor and delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To screen pregnant women at risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during delivery using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and serum immunoglobulin (Ig) testing. METHOD: Between March 31 st and August 31 st of 2020, consecutive pregnant women admitted for labor and delivery in a single hospital were screened for SARS-CoV-2 with nasopharyngeal RT-PCR swab tests and detection of serum IgG and IgM. RESULTS: We studied 266 pregnant women admitted for labor and delivery. The prevalence of acute or past SARS-CoV-2 infection was 9.0 %, including (i) two cases with respiratory symptoms of SARS-Co-V-2 infection and positive RT-PCR; (ii) four asymptomatic women with positive RT-PCR without clinical symptoms and negative serological tests between two and 15 weeks later; and (iii) two women with false positive RT-PCR due to technical problems. All newborns of the 6 pregnant women with RT-PCR positive had negative RT-PCR and did not require Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission. There were eighteen asymptomatic women with positive serological IgG tests and negative RT-PCR. CONCLUSION: In our cohort of gravids, we found 2.2 % of women with positive RT-PRC tests and 6.7 % with positive serological tests during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 and gender-related mortality in European countries: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine mortality rates related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by gender among European countries. METHODS: PubMed, preprint medRxiv and bioRxiv repositories, and Google were searched for the terms COVID-19, mortality rates, gender, and Europe. Only Google provided a website with appropriate information. COVID-19 cases and deaths from European countries were extracted by gender from the Global Health 50/50 repository up to May 23, 2020. Extracted data included country, the total number of COVID-19 cases and the number of related deaths by gender. Random effects models with the inverse variance method were used for meta-analyses. Results are reported as death risk ratios (RRs). RESULTS: We identified information from 23 European countries that reported separately by gender mortality rates related to COVID-19. The sample comprised 484,919 men and 605,229 women positive for COVID-19. The mortality rate was significantly higher in men than in women (risk ratio = 1.60, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.53, 1.68). The trend was similar when countries reporting < 5000, or < 10,000 cases were excluded from the analysis (RR = 1.60, 95 % CI 1.52, 1.69 and RR = 1.68; CI 1.62, 1.76, respectively). CONCLUSION: In Europe, the new zoonotic coronavirus causes significantly more deaths in men than in women.