COVID-19 in Pregnant Women With Rheumatic Disease: Data From the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance

Objective. To describe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease who were pregnant at the time of infection. Methods. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance has collected cases of patients with rheumatic disease with COVID-19. We report details of pregnant women at the time of COVID-19 infection, including obstetric details separately ascertained from providers. Results. We report on 39 patients, including 22 with obstetric detail available. The mean and median age was 33 years, range 24-45 years. Rheumatic disease diagnoses included rheumatoid arthritis (n = 9), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 9), psoriatic arthritis/other inflammatory arthritides (n = 8), and antiphospholipid syndrome (n = 6). Most had a term birth (16/22), with 3 preterm births, 1 termination, and 1 miscarriage; 1 woman had yet to deliver at the time of report. One-quarter (n = 10/39) of pregnant women were hospitalized following COVID-19 diagnosis. Two of 39 (5%) required supplemental oxygen (both hospitalized); no patients died. The majority did not receive specific medication treatment for their COVID-19 (n = 32/39, 82%), and 7 patients received some combination of antimalarials, colchicine, anti-interleukin 1 beta, azithromycin, glucocorticoids, and lopinavir/ritonavir. Conclusion. Women with rheumatic diseases who were pregnant at the time of COVID-19 had favorable outcomes. These data have limitations due to the small size and methodology; however, they provide cautious optimism for pregnancy outcomes for women with rheumatic disease particularly in comparison to the increased risk of poor outcomes that have been reported in other series of pregnant women with COVID-19.

Automated summary

This study describes the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease. The results show that pregnant women with rheumatic disease had favorable outcomes during the COVID-19 infection, with no deaths reported. Most patients did not receive specific medication treatment for COVID-19. Although the data is limited, it provides cautious optimism for pregnancy outcomes in women with rheumatic disease compared to other series of pregnant women with COVID-19.