Early Discharge of Newborns Born to Mothers with COVID-19: A Possible Safe Strategy.

OBJECTIVE:In this study, we evaluated the safety of early discharge (ED) of newborns born to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive mothers. STUDY DESIGN:All ED newborns from the postpartum wards of the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli between January 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022, were retrospectively analyzed. Newborns from mothers with COVID-19 and those from uninfected mothers were considered. The primary outcome was to evaluate whether the rate of the composite outcome, which was the percentage of rehospitalization/access in emergency room (RH/ER) within the first week from discharge, differed between neonates born to mother with COVID-19 (COVID-19 group) and those born to uninfected mothers (no COVID-19 group). The secondary outcomes were to assess the quality of feeding and number of outpatient visits in the follow-up clinic between the two cohorts of patients. RESULTS:One hundred and thirty-four newborns in the no COVID-19 group and 26 in the COVID-19 group were analyzed. The rate of RH/ER in the no COVID-19 group was of 6 over 134 newborns (0.045, 95% confidence image [CI]: 0.017-0.095), while in COVID-19 group, it was of 2 over 26 newborns (0.077), which does not differ from the expected rate (1.17 over 26 newborns, 0.045, 95% CI: 0.017-0.095). CONCLUSION:ED for newborns from mothers with COVID-19 could be an actionable safe strategy. KEY POINTS:· We evaluated the feasibility of early discharge (ED) of mothers with COVID-19 and their newborns.. · Rate of rehospitalization between newborns from uninfected mothers and infected ones was comparable.. · ED could be an actionable practice for newborns from mothers with COVID-19..