Delivery Room Preparedness and Early Neonatal Outcomes During COVID19 Pandemic in New York City.

* Abbreviations: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 CPAP — : continuous positive airway pressure DR — : delivery room PI — : premature infant PPE — : personal protective equipment PUI — : patient under investigation SARS-CoV-2 — : severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 WBN — : well-baby nursery Since the initial report of a novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan in December 2019, there has been widespread dissemination of disease worldwide.1 The impact on the neonatal population has been reported almost exclusively from China.2–8 Our study goal is to characterize for the first time in the United States the delivery room (DR) management and early course of infants born to mothers positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during 3 weeks at the peak of the pandemic in New York, New York, and to describe the challenges and approaches developed to meet these excessive needs. This is a prospective initiative of mothers admitted to labor and delivery, all of whom were tested, and is focused on those who tested positive for COVID-19 via SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction obtained from a nasopharyngeal swab only and their infants triaged to the well-baby nursery (WBN) or admitted to NICU at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medicine between March 22 and April 15th, 2020. A checklist developed during the process delineated DR … Address correspondence to Jeffrey Perlman, MB, ChB, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, 525 E 68th St, Suite N-506, New York, NY 10065. E-mail: jmp2007{at}med.cornell.edu