COVID-19 and the production of knowledge regarding recommendations during pregnancy: a scoping review.
Victor Hugo Alves Mascarenhas, Adriana Caroci-Becker, Kelly Cristina Máxima Pereira Venâncio and 3 others
PMID 32609284WHAT IT FOUND
Early guidance for pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 recommended isolation, risk classification, rest, nutrition, oxygen if needed, fluid and electrolyte monitoring, vital signs, oxygen saturation, fetal heart rate checks, individualized delivery, and multiprofessional care.
It did not test them.
Key findings
01The review analysed 24 articles, all published in 2020, after screening 368 studies.
02The mapped recommendations covered clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, working pregnant women, vaccine development, pregnancy complications, prenatal care, vertical transmission, and transplacental transmissibility.
03The included evidence was 12 empirical and 12 theoretical studies, including eight retrospective descriptive studies, six reviews, five opinion papers, three case studies, and two experience reports.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review stopped at March 2020, so it reflects very early information. Most included studies were retrospective or opinion papers, and the review did not assess their quality. Chinese-language papers were excluded, so it may miss studies from the country where the pandemic began. The included studies used small samples, so the recommendations may not generalise. The review mapped recommendations; it did not test whether they improved maternal or fetal outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the mapped recommendations as proven treatments. They came from early, small, mostly retrospective and opinion papers, and the review did not assess quality or test effectiveness.