Maternal and perinatal outcomes in mixed antenatal care modality implementing telemedicine in the southwestern region of Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BMC Health Serv Res
; 23(1): 259, 2023 Mar 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2258391
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Contingency measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited access to routine prenatal care for pregnant women, increasing the risk of pregnancy complications due to poor prenatal follow-up, especially in those patients at high obstetric risk. This prompted the implementation and adaptation of telemedicine.OBJECTIVE:
We aim to evaluate the maternal and perinatal outcomes of patients who received prenatal care in-person and by telemedicine.METHODS:
We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of pregnant women who received exclusive in-person and alternate (telemedicine and in-person) care from March to December 20,202, determining each group's maternal and neonatal outcomes.RESULTS:
A total of 1078 patients were included, 156 in the mixed group and 922 in the in-person group. The patients in the mixed group had a higher number of prenatal controls (8 (6-9) vs 6 (4-8) p < 0.001), with an earlier gestational age at onset (7.1 (6-8.5) vs 9.3 (6.6-20.3), p < 0.001), however, they required a longer hospital stay (26 (16,67%) vs 86 (9,33%), p = 0.002) compared to those attended in-person; there were no significant differences in the development of obstetric emergencies, maternal death or neonatal complications.DISCUSSION:
Incorporating telemedicine mixed with in-person care could be considered as an alternative for antenatal follow-up of pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries with barriers to timely and quality health care access.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Telemedicine
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant, Newborn
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Colombia
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Health Serv Res
Journal subject:
Health Services Research
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12913-023-09255-4
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