QUEZON CITY, Dec. 1 (PIA) -- Medical experts from the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) and the University of the Philippines Manila-Philippine General Hospital (UPM-PGH) said pregnant women are more at risk for contracting severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people.
“Based on what we know at this time, pregnant women are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people,” the experts said.
“Additionally, pregnant women with COVID-19 might be at increased risk for other adverse outcomes, such as preterm birth,” they added.
Dr. Marvic Gabitan, a fellow of the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) Department of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and Dr. Judith Montero, a fellow of the UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital (UPM-PGH) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Division of Infectious Diseases presented in a “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar the case of a pregnant COVID survivor with acute respiratory distress syndrome post-Caesarian section.
In partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the UPM National Institutes of Health-National Telehealth Center, and in cooperation with the UPM College of Medicine and the UPM-PGH, “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar series aims to help health professionals exchange case studies to better manage COVID-19 patients.
Their discussion centered on the case of a 30-year-old nurse, at her 34th week of pregnancy, who was exposed to a COVID-19 patient, delivered the baby prematurely, and then developed sepsis.
The nurse-patient, who worked at a private hospital, had direct physical contact for more than 15 minutes to a confirmed COVID-19 patient one week prior to the onset of her symptoms. She was only wearing surgical mask during exposure.
“She had no co-morbidities, except that she was pregnant… her chief complaint were persistent sore throat and dry cough for four days and high fever (39 degrees Celsius) on the day of admission,” Dr. Gabitan said, noting that the nurse-patient had moderate case of COVID-19 pneumonia.
On the third day of admission at LCP, the patient had worsened dyspnea and dry cough. Her doctors decided to transfer her to UP-PGH for obstetric management, where she underwent Caesarian delivery and was admitted for two days. Her baby boy was safe and COVID-free.
But the patient was in critical condition after giving birth, making her husband to decide to transfer her back at the LCP for continued care.
Upon her readmission at the LCP, doctors performed series of hemoperfusion (or blood cleansing by adsorption on extracorporeal medium) and gave her convalescent plasma that ran for four hours. After 23 days of battling with COVID, her condition improved and was discharged from the hospital.
“Understanding the risk posed by SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women can inform clinical practice, teaching, training, and public health communication,” according to the webinar brief. “Team approaches are needed when managing pregnant women who may have COVID exposure,” it added. (MTQ/PIA-IDPD with information from UP)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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