the severity of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants born to mothers with covid-19 infection

Background :respiratory distress syndrome (rds) is one of the most common respiratory problems in preterm infants. many pregnant mothers were affected during the covid-19 pandemic. however, there is limited information about the neonatal consequences in premature infants born to infected mothers. distinguishing between the respiratory symptoms of covid-19 and rds is currently a challenge. objectives :the present study was conducted to investigate the severity of rds in premature infants with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks born to mothers infected with covid-19. methods :we performed a retrospective study including 60 premature infants with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks. thirty of these infants were born to mothers infected with covid-19, while the remaining 30 infants were born to mothers not infected with covid-19. all infants were admitted to the nicu from march 2020 to september 2021. the primary outcome was the need for surfactant replacement therapy. results :the patients in both groups were similar with respect to demographic characteristics. the duration of respiratory support was 12.92 ± 2.22 days in the covid-positive group (group p) and 16.04 ± 3.72 days in the covid-negative group (group n), with a p-value of 0.47. the need for auxiliary oxygen was 16.43 ± 3.59 days in group p and 16.10 ± 3.59 days in group n, with a p-value of 0.94. the length of hospital stay was 16.13 ± 2.60 days in group p and 19.37 ± 3.87 days in group n, with a p-value of 0.49. the need for resuscitation after birth was observed in 17 (56.7%) infants in group p and 6 (20%) infants in group n, with a p-value of 0.003. five infants in group p had a fever, with a p-value of 0.03. positive c-reactive protein (crp) was detected in 17 (56.6%) infants in group p and 6 (20%) in group n, with a p-value of 0.003. conclusions :in this study, the severity of neonatal rds and mortality was not affected by maternal covid-19 infection. delivery room resuscitation was more frequently needed, and fever was more common in these infants. more studies are recommended to determine the neonatal respiratory consequences of covid-19 infection with a larger number of patients.