Maternal Transport, What Do We Know: A Narrative Review.

Objective: This review examines the initial development of a transport system for neonates, followed by a subsequent evolution of a transportation system for the maternal/fetal unit, and then a maternal transport system (antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum) to specifically address maternal morbidity/mortality. Methods: A literature search was undertaken using the electronic databases PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. The search terms used were "maternal transport" AND "perinatal care" OR "labor" "obstetrics" OR "delivery". The years searched were 1960-2023. Results: There were 260 abstracts identified and 52 of those are the basis of this review. The utilization of a transportation system with the regionalization of levels of care has resulted in a significant reduction in neonatal, perinatal, and maternal morbidity and mortality. Although preterm delivery remains a concern in women transported, the number of deliveries that have occurred during transport is relatively small. Reimbursement for transportation continues to be a problem in several states. Conclusion: A state-of-the-art transportation system has evolved that transfers neonates, maternal/fetal dyad, and pregnant women (antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum) to the appropriate level of care facility to ensure the best maternal/fetal/neonatal outcomes.

Tailoring the response to COVID-19: experiences of an inner city maternity unit with a virtual patient surveillance approach.

This study outlines the characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We present the success of our 'COVID Surveillance Team' - a dedicated team of midwives and medics that regularly contact patients, identifying early any need for escalation of care. Data were collected prospectively from March to September 2020. Patients are followed up by our team for 14 days following diagnosis, via telephone. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were studied. Fifty-five women were diagnosed with COVID-19. 39/55 (70.9%) were of BAME background. 10/55 (18%) had medical comorbidities. 35/55 (63.6%) were diagnosed in the 3rd trimester, 7/55 (12.7%) were postnatal. Three women (5.4%) required critical care unit admission. One was transferred to a tertiary centre for extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), one patient died. Of the 43 deliveries, 28 (65.1%) underwent caesarean section. 11/45 (24.4%) of babies were born preterm. Eight babies were tested for COVID-19, one was positive. Our study demonstrates most pregnant women suffer mild illness, with no adverse outcomes for mother or neonate. We highlight the success of our COVID surveillance team, that should be considered best practice and consideration should be given for adoption by other maternity units to enhance patient safety.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? Many studies present maternal and neonatal characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 infection in the pregnant population, demonstrating most patients suffer mild disease with minimal adverse outcomes.What do the results of this study add? We highlight the important work of our COVID surveillance team, and the positive impact it has had on the wellbeing and safety of our women. We believe we are the first maternity unit in the UK to adopt and report on a virtual patient surveillance approach supporting our patients and leading to increased patient safety.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Our surveillance team has proved very successful and has been described as exemplar by NHS England and promoted as best practice. This approach could be adopted by other units, within the UK and further afield, for the benefit of women's health and safety. The team has shared their guidance and standard operating procedure with maternity units across the UK.

Reporte de caso: manejo multidisciplinario en gestante con embarazo de 31 semanas y COVID-19 positivo con evolución grave / Case report: multidisciplinary management in case of 31 weeks pregnant woman and COVID 19 infection with severe disease presentation

INTRODUCCIÓN: En diciembre de 2019 se reporta un brote de neumonía atípica causada por un nuevo coronavirus: SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2), cuya enfermedad se denomina COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019). Desde entonces su distribución se ha ampliado mundialmente causando una emergencia en los sistemas de salud. MÉTODO: Corresponde al reporte de caso clínico. Este estudio es descriptivo y se basa en el manejo realizado a paciente embarazada con COVID-19 confirmado. Esta publicación cuenta con la autorización del comité de ética local para la revisión de ficha clínica. CASO: Mujer de 40 años con un embarazo de 31 semanas, se le diagnostica COVID-19 tras contacto estrecho con caso confirmado. Evoluciona con disnea y por posibilidad de interrupción del embarazo se traslada a centro de mayor complejidad. Allí se pesquisa compromiso de función pulmonar, uso de musculatura accesoria y alteración sensorial, requiriendo oxigenoterapia. Se evalúa interdisciplinariamente decidiendo intubar y realizando manejo en unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI). Se realiza cesárea de urgencia a las 31+4 semanas debiendo realizarse histerectomía total por inercia uterina. Tras el procedimiento evoluciona tórpidamente con deterioro de función pulmonar, describiéndose un pronóstico catastrófico con probabilidad de fallecer por insuficiencia respiratoria. Un mes después despierta con una mejoría en su función pulmonar, sin otra falla orgánica. Actualmente se encuentra en buenas condiciones y es tratada multidisciplinariamente para lograr una rehabilitación integral. DISCUSIÓN: En epidemias pasadas, las embarazadas mostraron altas tasas de letalidad y riesgo de ingreso a UCI. Basados en una revisión de reportes de casos, parece ser que COVID-19 durante el embarazo se asocia a morbilidad materna severa, riesgo que aumenta en mujeres con comorbilidades, lo cual hace cuestionarnos si la infección por COVID-19 intensifica el riesgo materno o estos casos ya eran embarazos de riesgo. Se necesitan futuras investigaciones al respecto.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, was first reported in december 2019 in China as an atypipical pneumonia. Since then its distribution has globally expanded causing a public health emergency. METHOD: Corresponds to a case report. A descriptive study about the management of a pregnant woman whith COVID-19. CASE: A 40 year old pregnant woman, 31 weeks gestational age, was admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19. She developed dyspnea and preterm birth risk that needed a more complex hospital level. Thereafter, the patient developed respiratory distress, use of accessory breathing muscles and neurological alteration, requiring oxygen therapy. An interdisciplinary medical team evaluation decided to manage her condition at intensive care unit (ICU). Cesarean delivery was performed at 31+4 weeks. After the procedure, the pulmonary function declined to a life threatening condition. A month later, the patient woke up with improved pulmonary function, without any organ failure. Currently the patient is in a good general condition with a multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment ongoing. DISCUSSION: In previous epidemic outbrakes, pregnant women presented high fatality rates and intensive care tratment risk. Based on a case report review, COVID-19 in pregnancy is associated with severe maternal morbidity, specially in women with associated comorbidities. This situation raises the question whether the COVID-19 infection intensifies the maternal risk or whether these cases were already a high risk pregnancies. Additional studies are needed to answer this issue.

Maternal COVID-19 infection, clinical characteristics, pregnancy, and neonatal outcome: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of COVID-19 on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study in a large tertiary maternity unit within a university hospital with an average annual birth of over 10,000 births. We prospectively collected and analysed data for a cohort of 23 pregnant patients including singleton and multiple pregnancies tested positive for COVID-19 between February 2020 and April 2020 inclusive to assess the effect of COVID-19 on pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty-three pregnant patients tested positive for COVID-19, delivering 20 babies including a set of twins, with four ongoing pregnancies at the time of manuscript submission. 16/23 (70 %) whom tested positive were patients from Asian (Indian sub-continent) background. The severity of the symptoms ranged from mild in 13/23 (65.2 %) of the patients, moderate in 2/23 (8.7 %), and severe in 8/23 (34.8 %). Four out of total 23 COVID-19 pregnant patients (17.4 %) developed severe adult respiratory distress syndrome complications requiring ICU support, one of whom led to maternal death 1/23 (4.3 %). 11/23 (48 %) of the patients had pre-existing co-morbidities, with morbid obesity 5/23 (21.7 %) and diabetes 4/23 (17.4 %) being the more commonly represented. Of the 23 pregnant patients 19 were in their third trimester of pregnancy and delivered; 7/19 (36.8 %) had preterm birth, 3/19 (15.8 %) developed adult respiratory distress syndrome before delivery, and 2/19 (10.5 %) had pre-eclampsia. 16/19 (84 %) of patients delivered by C-section. Out of the 20 new-borns, 18 were singletons with a set of twin. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is associated with high prevalence of preterm birth, preeclampsia, and caesarean section compared to non-COVID pregnancies. COVID-19 infection was not found in the newborns and none developed severe neonatal complications.

Relevance of individual participant data meta-analysis for studies in obstetrics: delivery versus expectant monitoring for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Like many other research subjects in obstetrics, research on immediate delivery versus expectant monitoring for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy faces certain challenges when it comes to interpretation and generalisation of the results; relatively rare outcomes are studied, in a clinically heterogeneous population, while the clinical practice in some countries has dictated that studies in term pregnancy were completed before earlier gestational ages could be studied. This has resulted in multiple smaller studies, some studying surrogate outcome measures, with different in- and exclusion criteria, and without enough power for reliable subgroup analyses. All this complicates the generation of definitive answers and implementation of the results into clinical practice. Performing multiple studies and subsequently pooling their results in a meta-analysis can be a way to overcome the difficulties of studying relatively rare outcomes and subgroups with enough power, as well as a solution to reach a final answer on questions involving an uncertain and possibly harmful intervention. However, in the case of the current studies on delivery versus expectant monitoring in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, differences regarding eligibility criteria, outcome measures and subgroup definitions make it difficult to pool their results in an aggregate meta-analysis. Individual patient data meta-analysis (IPDMA) has the potential to overcome these challenges, because it allows for flexibility regarding the choice of endpoints and standardisation of inclusion and exclusion criteria across studies. In addition, it has more statistical power for informative subgroup analyses. We therefore propose an IPDMA on immediate delivery versus expectant monitoring for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and advocate the use of IPDMA for research questions in obstetrics that face similar challenges.