1. Comparison of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes using archival medical records before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a facility-based, retrospective cohort study.
- Author
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Arena, Patrick J, Dzogang, Camille, Gadoth, Adva, Nkamba, Dalau Mukadi, Hoff, Nicole A, Kampilu, David, Beia, Michael, Wong, Hui-Lee, Anderson, Steven A, Kaba, Didine, and Rimoin, Anne W
- Subjects
Humans ,Microcephaly ,Pregnancy Complications ,Fetal Growth Retardation ,Premature Birth ,Medical Records ,Retrospective Studies ,Pregnancy ,Infant ,Newborn ,Democratic Republic of the Congo ,Female ,Stillbirth ,Pandemics ,COVID-19 ,Adverse birth outcomes ,Democratic Republic of Congo ,GAIA ,Maternal immunization ,Medical records ,Perinatal Period - Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period ,Emerging Infectious Diseases ,Prevention ,Vaccine Related ,Pediatric ,Preterm ,Low Birth Weight and Health of the Newborn ,Infant Mortality ,Infectious Diseases ,Clinical Research ,Reproductive health and childbirth ,Good Health and Well Being ,Nursing ,Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine ,Public Health and Health Services ,Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine - Abstract
BackgroundLittle research has been conducted on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on either birth outcomes or the ability of archival medical records to accurately capture these outcomes. Our study objective is thus to compare the prevalence of preterm birth, stillbirth, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), congenital microcephaly, and neonatal bloodstream infection (NBSI) before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).MethodsWe conducted a facility-based retrospective cohort study in which identified cases of birth outcomes were tabulated at initial screening and subcategorized according to level of diagnostic certainty using Global Alignment of Immunization Safety Assessment in pregnancy (GAIA) definitions. Documentation of any birth complications, delivery type, and maternal vaccination history were also evaluated. The prevalence of each birth outcome was compared in the pre-COVID-19 (i.e., July 2019 to February 2020) and intra-COVID-19 (i.e., March to August 2020) periods via two-sample z-test for equality of proportions.ResultsIn total, 14,300 birth records were abstracted. Adverse birth outcomes were identified among 22.0% and 14.3% of pregnancies in the pre-COVID-19 and intra-COVID-19 periods, respectively. For stillbirth, LBW, SGA, microcephaly, and NBSI, prevalence estimates were similar across study periods. However, the prevalence of preterm birth in the intra-COVID-19 period was significantly lower than that reported during the pre-COVID-19 period (8.6% vs. 11.5%, p
- Published
- 2023