Pregnancy, Opioid Use Disorder and COVID-19: An Evaluation of Acute Care Presentations During a Pandemic

IntroductionThe opioid epidemic has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in increased acute care opioid-related and overdose visits. We sought to assess how the pandemic may have impacted an obstetric cohort impacted by opioid misuse in the acute care context.MethodsA retrospective review of acute care presentations of patients with concomitant pregnancy (Z33.1) and opioid-related diagnostic codes (T10 codes and/or F11) was conducted over a 24-month period (pre-COVID = March 2019 through February 2020, post-COVID = March 2020 through February 2021). Descriptive statistics and chi(2) analysis of pre- versus post-COVID presentations were performed.ResultsA total of 193 individuals, 104 (53.9%) pre- and 89 (46.1%) post-COVID, accounting for 292 total encounters, 160 (54.8%) pre- and 132 (45.2%) post-COVID, were seen for acute care visits (P = 0.84). Age (P = 0.15), race (P = 0.59), and insurance status (P = 0.17) were similar pre- versus post-COVID. The majority of presentations, pre- (40.4%) and post-COVID (44.9%), were for opioid withdrawal (P = 0.74). Although post-COVID individuals were more likely to lack prenatal care (48.3% versus 39.4% pre-COVID), this trend was not significant (P = 0.19). Similar proportions of individuals were affected by pregnancy complications (51.9% pre-, 44.9% post-COVID; P = 0.30). Similar proportions of individuals were affected by adverse pregnancy outcomes (44.2% pre-, 48.3% post-COVID; P = 0.64).ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic did not have a statistically significant effect on opioid-related acute care presentations or outcomes for obstetric patients. In this acute care cohort, however, opioid misuse had significant general impact on pregnancy complications and outcomes, suggesting unmet needs in this population.