To describe the trends in influenza diagnoses during delivery hospitalization and their relationship with severe maternal morbidity. Researchers used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to conduct a repeated cross-sectional examination of delivery hospitalizations from 2000 to 2018. They looked examined the link between an influenza diagnosis at the time of birth and severe maternal morbidity without transfusion, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maternal mortality and morbidity measurements related to influenza and obstetric complications were secondary outcomes. They used multivariable log-linear regression to examine changes in severe maternal morbidity by yearly influenza season, as well as the relationship between influenza and severe maternal morbidity. They controlled for demographic, clinical, and institutional variables. An influenza diagnosis complicated 23 per 10,000 of the 74.7 million delivery hospitalizations. When compared to individuals who did not have influenza, the rate of severe maternal morbidity was greater with an influenza diagnosis. Women who had an influenza diagnosis at the time of birth were at a higher risk of severe maternal morbidity than those who did not have influenza. This organization advocated for maternal mortality, mechanical intubation, sepsis and shock, and ARDS, as well as obstetric problems such as premature delivery and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Pregnant women who have influenza are more likely to have significant maternal morbidity, as well as influenza-related maternal and obstetric problems. These findings highlight the need of early detection and prevention of influenza infection during pregnancy in order to decrease downstream maternal morbidity and death.
