Evaluation of the Causes of Acute Respiratory Failure in Pregnant Women Admitted to Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Hospital before COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is rare in pregnancy and occurs in less than 0.1% of pregnancies, it is one of the most common admissions of pregnant women to the intensive care unit and one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. The aim of this study was evaluation of the causes of ARF in pregnant women admitted to Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Hospital from 2014 to 2019. Material and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional descriptive-analytical in pregnant women with respiratory disorders chief complaints. All cases of pregnant women admitted (1226 cases) were reviewed.  Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: In total, 75 patients were enrolled in the study and their records were reviewed. The mean age of patients was 28.47 ± 5.06 years. Fifteen patients (25%) had ARF. The results showed that 13.3% of pregnant women with ARF needed to use mechanical ventilation (P=0.038). Also, women with history of chronic lung disease (CLD) are at higher risk for ARF (46.7% vs. 33.3%, P<0.001). Only 1.7% of mothers without symptoms of ARF were infected, but 46.7% of mothers with symptoms of ARF were infected (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that infectious causes (influenza) and underlying CLD including asthma were major causes of ARF in pregnant women. Thus, more careful attention is needed to control the underlying disease, and planning for easier access to the influenza vaccine can play an effective role in reducing the incidence of pulmonary infections.