Coronavirus testing in women attending antenatal care.
Daniel L Rolnik, Tony M Korman, Andrea Rindt and 7 others
PMID 33092997WHAT IT FOUND
All 350 tests were negative, including in women with symptoms.
During this low transmission period, no pregnant woman tested positive. This is from one service and one time.
Key findings
01All 350 tests for SARS-CoV-2 were negative, including tests in women with possible symptoms.
02The estimated proportion of positive tests during the study period was 0%, with a 95% confidence interval of 0% to 1.0%.
03Of 351 women who consented, 332 were tested in the antenatal clinic and 19 were tested in other hospital areas because of possible symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was opt-in, so it may not represent all pregnant women. Testing was done at a single point in time in one maternity service. The period had low community transmission, so the results may not apply when prevalence is higher. A single swab can miss some infected people, especially if testing is repeated. The sample was mostly asymptomatic, so it cannot answer how testing should work during a large outbreak.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and received no specific funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that pregnant women never need testing. The results came from one maternity service during a low transmission period. The authors did not define the community transmission threshold at which testing asymptomatic pregnant women becomes necessary.