Outcomes of pregnant and post-partum patients admitted to the intensive care unit with COVID-19 in Australia: An analysis of SPRINT-SARI Australia

Background: Pregnant and post-partum (collectively peri-partum) women may be at increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease.

Aims: To describe the characteristics, interventions, and outcomes of peri-partum patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia with COVID-19.

Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective, multicentre observational study using the SPRINT-SARI Australia database across 63 ICUs in Australia. All women <45 years of age, admitted to a participating Australian ICU, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 1 June 2023 were included. Participants were categorised as either peri-partum, defined as pregnant or up to six weeks post-partum, or non-pregnant. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.

Results: A total of 737 eligible female patients were admitted to ICUs over the study period: 168/737 (23%) were peri-partum, while 569/737 (77%) were non-pregnant. The median age of peri-partum women was 31 (interquartile range (IQR) 27-36) years old, and median gestation was 28.0 (IQR 4-40) weeks. When compared to non-pregnant women, peri-partum women had lower rates of comorbidities (1.8% vs 14.4% P < 0.001), lower vaccination rates (27.4% vs 45.2%, P < 0.001), similar rates of mechanical ventilation, and greater use of tocilizumab (29.2% vs 4.0%, P < 0.001). Complications were low in both groups. In-hospital mortality was lower in peri-partum patients: 1/168 (0.6%) vs 24/569 (4.2%); P = 0.04.

Conclusions: Peri-partum patients made up ~25% of all women aged <45 years old admitted to Australian ICUs with COVID-19, and nearly 30% required mechanical ventilation. Despite lower vaccination rates in peri-partum patients, in-hospital mortality was lower than in non-pregnant patients.