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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · AJP Rep 2021; 11(02): e80-e83
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1728783
Case Report

Report of a Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Positive Newborn after Delivery Despite Negative SARS-CoV-2 Testing on Both Parents

Benjamin R. Harding
1   Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, Loma Linda, California
,
Farha Vora
1   Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, Loma Linda, California
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Abstract

We present a case of a term infant born to an asymptomatic mother at a community hospital who required transfer to a local neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) immediately after birth for respiratory distress. The infant was tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at 24 hours of life by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing due to the absence of prenatal maternal COVID-19 testing and was found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 at that time. A second RT-PCR test was obtained on the infant on day of life (DOL) 4 and was also positive, confirming an accurate diagnosis of COVID-19 disease in the infant. Both the mother and father remained asymptomatic and concomitantly tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 on two separate occasions. The infant subsequently clinically improved and was discharged without any complications. This case raises the potential concern for two unreported newborn issues related to COVID-19. First, the potential unreliability of negative maternal COVID-19 testing surrounding the time of delivery as it relates to routine newborn testing and isolation needs, and second, if the negative material testing was accurate, this raises the concern for a potential case of nosocomial COVID-19 infection within the first 24 hours of life.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2 - COVID-19 - newborn - asymptomatic - congenital - infection - nosocomial


Publication History

Received: 28 December 2020

Accepted: 23 February 2021

Article published online:
16 June 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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