Number of “warning” pregnant women admitted to Alabama ICU

Physician in the Department of Maternal and Fetal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Recently reported 39 pregnant women with COVID-19 were hospitalized in August. Of this group, 10 were admitted to the ICU and 7 are currently on ventilator.

It’s not uncommon for UAB ICUs to see one or two pregnant patients a month in an average year, rather than in a pandemic, Dr. Akila Subramaniam said. Virtual discussion.. However, in addition to these more routine cases, the number of pregnant patients in need of intensive care in the ICU has “almost five-fold increased.”

The majority of pregnant patients with UAB were second or third trimesters at the time of admission. Most were unvaccinated or not completely vaccinated. Some received their first dose within the last few weeks before admission.

Earlier this month, CDC Highly recommended Pregnant women will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the wake of new safety data. However, according to statistics, as of August 14th 23.8% They have been vaccinated at least once in the entire pregnant population.

At a briefing on Tuesday’s White House COVID-19 Response Team, surgeon Vivek Murthy emphasized the seriousness of being infected with COVID during pregnancy.

“The risks of hospitalization, staying in the ICU, preterm birth, and preterm birth are significantly increased. These are not significant risks,” he said. “And the best way to reduce your risk to take care of yourself during pregnancy is to get vaccinated. That’s what we’re working hard to get that message out. The reason is.”

according to Recent researchVaccine hesitation is high among pregnant women, and many raise safety concerns. However, Preprint data No increased risk of spontaneous or miscarriage has been shown among vaccinated women. Moreover, Large-scale research Was announced in JAMA network open, Pregnant women infected with severe COVID-19 were found to be 10 times more likely to die during hospitalization and 6 times more likely to give birth prematurely.

In Alabama, the incidence of severe COVID in pregnant patients is higher than both during the peak of last summer and the subsequent surge in winter, Subramaniam said.

She added that the COVID positive rate for pregnant women who have passed UAB hospitals has increased significantly since June of this year.

According to Subramaniam, almost all pregnant women hospitalized for COVID in the past few months gave birth prematurely. “And not because they are working on preterm birth, but because we are influencing preterm birth.”

She said some of these patients may need to be intubated. Often this leads to an increased intubation failure rate and “deterioration of maternal condition”. That is, childbirth is affected whenever needed. This can be pre-maturity or 37 weeks.

“We see deliveries at 30, 32, 34, and even 28 and 26 weeks,” she added. “Preterm birth … It takes time from a resource standpoint, but even deliveries less than 28 weeks have a high prevalence of newborns and a risk of premature babies.” Still, if you are infected with severe COVID during pregnancy She concluded that the long-term downstream impact of her was unknown at this time.

To date, UAB has reported that two pregnant COVID-positive patients have died in the hospital. Six lost their babies in the second semester and three lost their babies in the third semester.

Ashley Roman, MD, a physician in maternal-fetal medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City, said: Today’s MedPage Almost all COVID-positive pregnant patients admitted to her hospital have not been vaccinated.

She said she was trying to keep the conversation focused on the data when she treated patients who resisted the vaccine.

“A little ironic to me is that these are women who refuse to vaccinate during pregnancy, but when they become infected with severe COVID, they are willing to accept other drugs, such as remdesivir and remdesivir, for which there is no solid data. It is a monoclonal antibody. “

She added that she often encounters major misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant patients, including vaccines that cause miscarriage, infertility, and other pregnancy complications. Still, during conversations with the patient, she relies on currently available data.

What does she say to patients who dislike vaccines? “The vaccine stays in the arm and the vaccine itself does not cross the placenta,” Roman said. “But it builds a very strong immune response, and the antibodies that the mother builds against COVID pass through the placenta. Therefore, the vaccine only protects the mother from serious illnesses during pregnancy. It also has the potential to protect the baby. “