How COVID-19 pandemic is changing the practice of prenatal screening and diagnosis?

To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prenatal screening and diagnostic tests.

We conducted a retrospective study with pregnant women attending to the perinatology department of a tertiary referral center. The pre-COVID-19 period between 11 March 2019 and 10 March 2020 and COVID-19 period between 11 March 2020 and 10 March 2021 were evaluated. Both periods were compared in terms of outpatient visits, ultrasound examinations, prenatal screening and diagnostic tests. The correlation of deaths related to COVID-19 pandemic on these parameters was also assessed.

A total of 38,918 patients were examined and 28,452 ultrasound examinations, 26,672 prenatal screening tests and 1,471 prenatal diagnostic tests were performed over two years. During COVID-19 pandemic, number of outpatient visits decreased by 25.2%, ultrasound examinations decreased by 44.2%, prenatal screening tests decreased by 36.2% and prenatal diagnostic tests decreased by 30.7%. Statistically significant correlation was not observed between deaths related to COVID-19 and outpatient visits (p=0.210), ultrasound examinations (p=0.265), prenatal screening (p=0.781) and diagnostic tests (p=0.158). Among indications of prenatal diagnostic tests, maternal anxiety was significantly higher in COVID-19 period (p=0.023). There was significant decrease in the detection of fetuses with trisomy 21 (p=0.047) and a significant increase in the detection of fetuses with Turner syndrome (p=0.017) during COVID-19 period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted antenatal care. Prenatal fetal screening and diagnosis was adversely affected by the pandemic in terms of detecting genetic and structural anomalies.