Article
Authors: Waleed F Gharib (Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez-Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.) , Hesham Nasser (Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez-Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.) , Ahmed M.A. Sobh (Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.) , Rasha E Khamees (Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez-Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.)
Objective: To evaluate complete blood count (CBC) changes that suggest coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) among asymptomatic pregnant women attending routine antenatal care
Methods: A cross-sectional study included 187 healthy pregnant women who were attending the antenatal care clinic of a tertiary University hospital between March and June 2020. After a thorough history and examinations, a venous blood sample was taken from each participant for complete and differential blood counts. Those who showed CBC findings suggestive of COVID-19 were further scheduled for a nasopharyngeal swab for detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific antigens through polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: We found 5.3% (n=10) of the study population showed CBC changes that are suggestive of COVID-19. When they were scheduled for nasopharyngeal swab for a PCR confirmatory test, 30% (n=3) of them were PCR positive (which represented 1.6% of the entire study population). The most frequently encountered COVID-19-suggestive change in peripheral blood leukocyte differential counts was leucopenia (100%), followed by decreased eosinophil count (50%), then neutropenia and lymphocytopenia (30%).
Conclusions: Certain differential leucocyte count changes (leucopenia, neutropenia, lymphocytopenia and decreased eosinophil count) among asymptomatic pregnant women might be related to COVID-19 infection and may indicate a need for further testing.
Keywords: COVID-19, pregnancy, blood count.
How to Cite: Gharib, W. F. , Nasser, H. , Sobh, A. M. & Khamees, R. E. (2021) “COVID-19 related complete blood count changes among asymptomatic pregnant women”, Proceedings in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/2154-4751.1511