Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Scottish neonates 2020–2022: a national, population-based cohort study

Goulding, A. et al. (2023) Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Scottish neonates 2020–2022: a national, population-based cohort study. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 108(4), pp. 367-372. (doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324713) (PMID:36609412) (PMCID:PMC10313998)

Abstract

Objectives: To examine neonates in Scotland aged 0–27 days with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by viral testing; the risk of confirmed neonatal infection by maternal and infant characteristics; and hospital admissions associated with confirmed neonatal infections. Design: Population-based cohort study. Setting and population: All live births in Scotland, 1 March 2020–31 January 2022. Results: There were 141 neonates with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection over the study period, giving an overall infection rate of 153 per 100 000 live births (141/92 009, 0.15%). Among infants born to women with confirmed infection around the time of birth, the confirmed neonatal infection rate was 1812 per 100 000 live births (15/828, 1.8%). Two-thirds (92/141, 65.2%) of neonates with confirmed infection had an associated admission to neonatal or (more commonly) paediatric care. Six of these babies (6/92, 6.5%) were admitted to neonatal and/or paediatric intensive care; however, none of these six had COVID-19 recorded as their main diagnosis. There were no neonatal deaths among babies with confirmed infection. Implications and relevance: Confirmed neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection was uncommon over the first 23 months of the pandemic in Scotland. Secular trends in the neonatal confirmed infection rate broadly followed those seen in the general population, although at a lower level. Maternal confirmed infection at birth was associated with an increased risk of neonatal confirmed infection. Two-thirds of neonates with confirmed infection had an associated admission to hospital, with resulting implications for the baby, family and services, although their outcomes were generally good. Ascertainment of confirmed infection depends on the extent of testing, and this is likely to have varied over time and between groups: the extent of unconfirmed infection is inevitably unknown.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: COVID-19 in Pregnancy in Scotland (COPS) is a substudy of EAVE II, which is funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_PC 19075) with the support of BREATHE, Respiratory Health (MC_PC_19004), which is funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK. Additional support has been provided through Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government DG Health and Social Care and the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation. COPS has received additional funding from Tommy’s charity and support from Sands charity.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mccowan, Professor Colin and Hopcroft, Dr Lisa and Pollock, Dr Louisa
• Authors: Goulding, A., McQuaid, F., Lindsay, L., Agrawal, U., Auyeung, B., Calvert, C., Carruthers, J., Denny, C., Donaghy, J., Hillman, S., Hopcroft, L., Hopkins, L., McCowan, C., McLaughlin, T., Moore, E., Ritchie, L., Simpson, C. R., Taylor, B., Fenton, L., Pollock, L., Gale, C., Kurinczuk, J. J., Robertson, C., Sheikh, A., Stock, S., and Wood, R.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Archives of Disease in Childhood
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0003-9888
• ISSN (Online): 1468-2052
• Published Online: 06 January 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Archives of Disease in Childhood 108(4):367-372.
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License