Strengths and limitations
This case-control study is the first to systematically compared clinical
course and outcomes of hospitalized pregnant patients with non-pregnant
patients with COVID-19. It was conducted at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan
University in Wuhan, China, from January 1 to May 7, 2020; final date of
follow-up was Jul 8, 2020. This hospital is one of the major teaching
hospitals and is responsible for the treatments for COVID-19 assigned by
the Chinese government under scientific guidance. The research duration
covered the major process of COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan. All of those
ensured adequate number of hospitalized cases and comparability of data.
Our data were collected using a standardized customized data collection
forms from patients’ medical records by a trained team of physicians,
and verified independently by 2 investigators. Our study has some
limitations. First, though all the cases were selected at random, few
critical and serious cases were included in this study, limiting the
clinical implications. Second, all patients in this study were from the
Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, there may be different clinical
characteristics in different areas due to differences in race, policies,
culture and medical conditions, so the results should be treated with
caution. Third, neonates were only evaluated at birth, continued
observations of the natural history of the neonates and infants are
needed.