Clinical manifestations, prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, transmission, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in pregnancy and postpartum: a living systematic review protocol
Authors: Yap Magnus , Debenham Luke , Kew Tania , Chatterjee Shaunak Rhiju , Allotey John , Stallings Elena , Coomar Dyuti , Lee Siang Ing , Qiu Xiu , Yuan Mingyang , Clavé Llavall Anna , Dixit Anushka , Zhou Dengyi , Balaji Rishab , van Wely Madelon , Kostova Elena , van Leeuwen Elisabeth , Mofenson Lynne , Kunst Heinke , Khalil Asma , Tiberi Simon , Thomas James , Brizuela Vanessa , Broutet Nathalie , Kara Edna , Kim Caron , Thorson Anna , Rayco-Solon Pura , Pardo-Hernandez Hector , Oladapo Olufemi Taiwo , Zamora Javier , Bonet Mercedes , Thangaratinam Shakila 
Published: December 2020

Introduction

Rapid, robust and continually updated evidence synthesis is required to inform management of COVID-19 in pregnant and postpartum women and to keep pace with the emerging evidence during the pandemic.

Methods and analysis

We plan to undertake a living systematic review to assess the prevalence, clinical manifestations, risk factors, rates of maternal and perinatal complications, potential for mother-to-child transmission, accuracy of diagnostic tests and effectiveness of treatment for COVID-19 in pregnant and postpartum women (including after miscarriage or abortion). We will search Medline, Embase, WHO COVID-19 database, preprint servers, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure system and Wanfang databases from 1 December 2019. We will supplement our search with studies mapped by Cochrane Fertility and Gynaecology group, Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), COVID-19 study repositories, reference lists and social media blogs. The search will be updated every week and not be restricted by language. We will include observational cohort (≥10 participants) and randomised studies reporting on prevalence of COVID-19 in pregnant and postpartum women, the rates of clinical manifestations and outcomes, risk factors in pregnant and postpartum women alone or in comparison with non-pregnant women with COVID-19 or pregnant women without COVID-19 and studies on tests and treatments for COVID-19. We will additionally include case reports and series with evidence on mother-to-child transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in utero, intrapartum or postpartum. We will appraise the quality of the included studies using appropriate tools to assess the risk of bias. At least two independent reviewers will undertake study selection, quality assessment and data extraction every 2 weeks. We will synthesise the findings using quantitative random effects meta-analysis and report OR or proportions with 95% CIs and prediction intervals. Case reports and series will be reported as qualitative narrative synthesis. Heterogeneity will be reported as I2 and τ2 statistics.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not required as this is a synthesis of primary data. Regular updates of the results will be published on a dedicated website (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/who-collaborating-centre/pregcov/index.aspx) and disseminated through publications, social media and webinars.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020178076.