Nearly All Women With Coronavirus In NYC Study Had No Symptoms

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A startling study from two New York City hospitals published this week shows the importance of universal testing for the new coronavirus and the number of asymptomatic people who may be unknowingly spreading the disease, doctors said.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, tested more than 200 pregnant women admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center between March 22 and April 4 for the coronavirus.

Only four of the women had symptoms of COVID-19, but 33 ended up testing positive. In other words, about 88 percent of the women with coronavirus were asymptomatic, according to the study.

"There are a number of other things we can do differently if we have this information about our patients," one of the study's authors, Dr. Dena Goffman, said in an NBC interview. "Having this information has numerous benefits for us and for the patient population."

(To keep up to date with coronavirus developments in NYC, sign up for Patch's news alerts and newsletter.)

Goffman said doctors first decided to start testing all pregnant women admitted to the hospitals after two women who came in without symptoms in early March began getting sick during their stay.

The women both tested positive for the coronavirus after they delivered their babies.

"Once we made the diagnosis, the women had been under our care for a period of time and had potentially exposed numerous staff members — a huge portion of our workforce," Goffman told NBC.

"Once we made the diagnosis, it sort of clicked that there were women that may be asymptomatic and that we may want to think different about it."

The study also found that most of the asymptomatic women with coronavirus didn't develop symptoms during their stay at the hospital. Of the 29 women who were asymptomatic but had positive COVID-19 tests, only three developed a fever before they were discharged.

One woman who did develop symptoms was among those who tested negative for coronavirus. The hospital tested the woman again three days after her initial test and found that it came up positive.

"The true prevalence of infection may be underreported because of false negative results of tests to detect [COVID-19]," the doctors wrote.

The doctors contend that the results underscore the benefits of universal testing in hospitals to help keep patients and staff safe, although they note that the study only represents a limited, two-week span in the hospitals.

"The potential benefits of a universal testing approach include the ability to use COVID-19 status to determine hospital isolation practices and bed assignments, inform neonatal care, and guide the use of personal protective equipment," they wrote. "Access to such clinical data provides an important opportunity to protect mothers, babies and health care teams during these challenging times."

Coronavirus In NYC: Latest Happenings And Guidance

Email PatchNYC@patch.com to reach a Patch reporter or fill out this anonymous form to share your coronavirus stories. All messages are confidential.