Comparison of clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings in pregnant and non-pregnant women with COVID-19: a case-control study

Background: Clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings characteristic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection have already been investigated and identified; however, data on pregnant women infected with COVID-19 are limited. This study aims to examine the clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women with COVID-19 disease. Method: This hospital-based retrospective age-matched case-control study included two groups, pregnant and non-pregnant women, each consisting of 51 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Bushehr, Iran. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory information was extracted from medical records using a predefined checklist. Results: Except for cough, there were no statistically significant differences in clinical signs and symptoms between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Although hemoglobin oxygen saturations are statistically significant among the two groups, this difference is not clinically significant (95% vs 93%). There were no statistically significant differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women in the pattern of pulmonary involvement in chest CT findings. Laboratory factors such as serum hemoglobin, red blood cell count, absolute lymphocyte count, prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, serum creatinine, serum potassium, and lactate dehydrogenase had statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, these differences were not clinically significant. Conclusion: In a few aspects, the clinical characteristics and laboratory test results of COVID-19 in pregnant patients seem to be distinctive from their nonpregnant controls. We believe our findings can guide the prenatal and postnatal considerations for COVID-19 pregnant patients.