Risk of COVID-19 in newborns depending on the infection course in the mother
The incidence of the new coronavirus infection (CO VID-19) remains a global problem worldwide. However, the effect of COVID-19 on the course of pregnancy and the pos sibility of intrauterine infection are insufficiently investigat ed. Recent studies suggest the possibility of a transplacental transmission of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. Goal: To analyze SARS-Cov-2 RNA detection cases in newborns and to study possible factors influencing the infec tion of newborns from mothers with COVID-19. Materials and methods. From March to August 2020, there were 64 births to women with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 at the Botkin’s Infection Disease Hospital. In 15 newborns, the diagnosis of COVID-19 was laboratory con firmed. In this study, the histories of 14 newborns and their mothers were analyzed retrospectively. The diagnosis of CO VID-19 was based on the detection of SARS-Cov-2 RNA in a nasopharyngeal swab or in fecal samples. Results. Analysis of the histories of mothers showed that 4 (28.6%) patients had an asymptomatic disease. Three (21.4%) women had a severe course of COVID-19, 7 (50%) patients had a course of moderate severity. Fetal hypoxia was more common in women with severe or moderate course of COVID-19. In 6 (42.7%) newborns, a positive nasopharyn geal swab was obtained within 48 hours after birth. None of the women whose children were RNA-positive in the first two days had a severe form of the disease, and two patients had an asymptomatic disease. Conclusion. The frequency of detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in newborns from mothers with COVID-19 (under mother-child separation) was 21.9%. Infection of a newborn with SARS-CoV-2 is possible both with a severe course of the disease in the mother and with an asymptomatic course. A caesarean section does not exclude the possibility of a newborn infection with SARS-CoV-2. In newborns, in most cases, an asymptomatic course of COVID-19 is observed