Universal screening for SARS-CoV-2 before labor admission during Covid-19 pandemic in Madrid.

ABSTRACT

Objectives Asymptomatic women admitted to labor may act as silent spreaders of COVID-19. Therefore, universal screening at admission has been proposed. The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of universal screening for SARS-CoV-2 using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase-chain-reaction (qRT-PCR) tests in women admitted to labor. Methods Observational retrospective study of a cohort of pregnant women admitted to labor and delivery between April 8 and May 2, 2020 in a large maternity in Madrid. SARS-CoV-2 screening with qRT-PCR from combined nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs was carried out systematically. Screening performance was described. Results We attended 212 deliveries. Nine cases with COVID-19 diagnosis before admission were excluded. In the remaining 203 women, seven referred COVID-19-related symptoms but only one had a positive qRT-PCR. Among the 194 asymptomatic women, only one case (0.5%) was positive. Conclusions The percentage of positive tests in asymptomatic women admitted to delivery was only 0.5% during the post-peak period.