B-29 | Examining Excess Mortality in Patients Presenting With Preeclampsia During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A National Inpatient Survey Analysis (2019-2020)

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in pregnant patients with preeclampsia has not been extensively studied. We examined the 2019 and 2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to identify patients with a history of preeclampsia. These patients were divided into two groups based on the year: 2019 and 2020. To determine associations, we used both logistic and linear regression analyses, taking into account potential confounders. A 2-tailed p-value of 0.05 was established as the threshold for statistical significance. We documented a total of 330,155 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of preeclampsia. Of these, 164,419 (49.8%) were from the pandemic-affected year of 2020. The baseline demographic characteristics of patients from 2019 and 2020 were comparable. Considering variables like age, race, hospital size, location, teaching status, insurance, income level, and Elixhauser comorbidities in a multivariate regression analysis, a notable trend was observed. In 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a marked increase in in-hospital mortality among female patients, regardless of COVID-19 status, compared to 2019 (aOR 8.29, 95% CI 1.13 - 60.9). Between the two years, there was no difference in the utilization of mechanical ventilation, and hemodialysis (Figure 1). This analysis suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic consumed healthcare resources and significantly increased the risk of mortality for patients presenting with preeclampsia.