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Hematologic adaptation to mask‐wearing among pregnant women and obstetrical outcome during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
Author(s) -
Friedrich Lior,
Levin Gabriel,
Maixner Nitzan,
Bart Yossi,
Tsur Abraham,
Yi Yoav,
Meyer Raanan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/ijgo.13715
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , pregnancy , obstetrics , pandemic , confidence interval , gestation , covid-19 , postpartum period , cohort , cohort study , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , genetics , biology
Objective To evaluate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) mask‐wearing on hematological laboratory components and obstetrical outcomes among women delivering during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods Laboratory results and obstetrical outcomes of women with singleton gestations, admitted for delivery during the COVID‐19 mask‐wearing period (April–June 2020) were compared with those of women delivering during the parallel period in 2019 and with a larger cohort derived from nine pre‐pandemic years (March 2011–April 2020). Results Overall, 1838 women delivered during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Compared with the pre‐pandemic period, mean hemoglobin and fibrinogen levels were significantly higher during the mask‐wearing period (12.15 ± 1.1 vs 11.96 ± 1.2, P < 0.001 and 472 ± 103.6 vs 448 ± 85.1 mg/dl, P < 0.001, respectively). Platelet levels were lower (200 ± 56.0 vs 206 ± 57.5 K/µl, P < 0.001). The rate of delivery at <34 weeks of gestation was lower during the mask‐wearing period (1.1% vs 2%, odds ratio [OR] 0.57, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.37–0.88, P = 0.01), whereas cesarean delivery and postpartum hemorrhage rates were higher (26.7% vs 24.4%, OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.25, P = 0.022 and 4.1% vs 2.8%, OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–1.8, P = 0.001, respectively). Conclusion A hard‐to‐ventilate space created by wearing a mask during the COVID‐19 era may be the underlying cause of the observed higher hemoglobin level among pregnant women, possibly affecting obstetrical outcomes.