Diagnostic value of the APRI score in pregnant women infected with COVID-19

Aim: There are several methods to diagnose COVID-19. Early diagnosis and treatment are important in pregnant women with COVID-19. This study aims to investigate whether the APRI score is a method that can be used in the diagnosis of COVID-19 in pregnancy. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted between March 2020 and November 2020. Pregnant women who were found to be COVID-19 positive by the RT-PCR test were included in the study. The same number of healthy pregnant women who were matched for age, BMI, and gestational week without any systemic disease were included as a control group. Age, gravida, parity, gestational week, BMI, mode of delivery, complete blood count, liver function tests, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and APRI scores were evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of NLR, PLR, and APRI score in the diagnosis of COVID-19 were investigated. Results: Gravida, parity, gestational week, body mass index, and rate of previous vaginal delivery were similar between PCR-positive and negative patients. PCR-positive patients had significantly higher APRI scores (0.4 +/- 0.3 vs 0.2 +/- 0.0), NLR scores (7.7 +/- 5.3 vs 4.2 +/- 1.9) and PLR scores (217.3 +/- 105.7 vs 140.8 +/- 57.6) than PCR negative patients. The sensitivity of the NLR to detect COVID-19 was 69.44%, the specificity was 77.5%, the sensitivity of the PLR to detect COVID-19 was 58.33% (CI = 40.8-74.5), and the specificity was 87.5%. The APRI score sensitivity was 80.56%, and specificity was 80.0%. Discussion: The APRI score can be useful in predicting COVID-19 infection in pregnant women.