Maternal Outcomes When Influenza Is Diagnosed at Hospitalization for Delivery

To better characterize the maternal consequences of acquiring influenza during pregnancy, investigators reviewed data on >70 million deliveries in the U.S. from 2000 through 2018 and identified >171,000 that included a diagnosis of influenza. Incidence of influenza was 23 per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations, with little variation throughout the study period.

Risks for maternal mortality and severe morbidity were higher among deliveries with influenza than those without influenza (adjusted relative risk, 2.24). Specifically, excess risks included maternal death (aRR, 3.6), intubation (aRR, 6.9), sepsis and shock (aRR, 5.5), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (aRR, 7.8). Preterm birth was also more common among women with influenza (aRR,…