Maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with suspected Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone, 2014

Abstract

Objective: To describe maternal and perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with suspected Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone.

Methods: Observational investigation of maternal and perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with suspected EVD from five districts in Sierra Leone from June to December 2014. Suspected cases were ill pregnant women with symptoms suggestive of EVD or relevant exposures who were tested for EVD. Case frequencies and odds ratios were calculated to compare patient characteristics and outcomes by EVD status.

Results: There were 192 suspected cases: 67 (34.9%) EVD-positive, 118 (61.5%) EVD-negative, and 7 (3.6%) EVD status unknown. Women with EVD had increased odds of death (OR 10.22; 95% CI, 4.87-21.46) and spontaneous abortion (OR 4.93; 95% CI, 1.79-13.55) compared with those without EVD. Women without EVD had a high frequency of death (30.2%) and stillbirths (65.9%). One of 14 neonates born following EVD-negative and five of six neonates born following EVD-positive pregnancies died.

Conclusion: EVD-positive and EVD-negative women with suspected EVD had poor outcomes, highlighting the need for increased attention and resources focused on maternal and perinatal health during an urgent public health response. Capturing pregnancy status in nationwide surveillance of EVD can help improve understanding of disease burden and design effective interventions.

Keywords: Ebola virus disease; Maternal health; Mortality; Perinatal outcomes; Sierra Leone; Spontaneous abortion; Stillbirth; West Africa.