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Two hospitals tested all pregnant patients for coronavirus. Here's what they found
From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen
Most of the pregnant women in New York who tested positive for the novel coronavirus -- one in eight -- were asymptomatic at time of delivery, according to a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday.
The research was conducted between March 22 and April 4 at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital.
The center put a universal testing policy in place for all women admitted for delivery after the medical centers had two novel coronavirus cases confirmed among their patient population.
Asymptomatic cases suggest universal testing important: Of the 215 pregnant women who delivered at these hospitals, four who tested positive for Covid-19 when they were admitted for delivery had a fever or some other symptoms of the coronavirus.
There were 29 others who tested positive for Covid-19 but did not have fever or any other symptoms of the disease.
The authors argue that this research shows that there are real potential benefits to conducting a universal test on patients.
Knowing if someone is infectious would help the hospital determine where to place the patients so they won’t get other people sick, and would help guide the hospital’s decisions on what personal protective equipment the staff may need.