Novel coronavirus 2019 testing in women attending routine antenatal
care: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Objective: Universal screening has been proposed as a strategy to
identify asymptomatic individuals infected with the severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and mitigate
transmission. We aimed to investigate the rate of positive tests among
pregnant women attending routine antenatal care. Design: Cross-sectional
prevalence study. Setting: Antenatal clinic at three maternity hospitals
(one tertiary referral hospital and two secondary maternities) in
Melbourne, Australia. Population: Asymptomatic pregnant women attending
routine antenatal care and pregnant women undergoing testing with
symptoms of possible coronavirus disease. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 testing
was offered to all pregnant women attending face-to-face antenatal
visits and to those attending the hospital with symptoms of possible
coronavirus disease, between 6th and 19th of May 2020. Testing was
performed by multiplex-tandem polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on
combined oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs. Main Outcome Measures:
Proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 tests. Results: SARS-CoV-2 testing was
performed in 350 women, of whom 19 had symptoms of possible COVID-19.
The median maternal age was 32 years (IQR 28 to 35 years), and the
median gestational age at testing was 33 weeks and four days (IQR 28
weeks to 36 weeks and two days). All 350 tests returned negative results
(p̂ = 0%, 95% CI 0 to 0.86%). Conclusion: The rate of asymptomatic
coronavirus infection among pregnant women in Australia during the study
period was negligible, which reflected reassuringly low levels of
community transmission.