THURSDAY, Nov. 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Guidelines have been developed for the care of pregnant women at risk of or with suspected Ebola virus disease (EVD), according to a practice advisory published online Nov. 3 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
Noting that medical management of EVD presents challenges in terms of case mortality and horizontal transmission, ACOG provided guidelines for pregnancy care in the context of EVD.
According to the guidelines, the intersection of EVD and pregnancy is expected to be rare in the United States, and most obstetric providers should be focused on education and screening, leaving care of infected individuals to those with specialized training. All providers and centers should develop and operationalize screening tools to identify those at risk for or with suspected EVD; when these patients are identified they should be isolated, and steps should be taken to inform local experts. Only providers with detailed and specific training should care for patients with EVD. Pregnant women at risk for or with EVD should be referred to and managed at centers with the required resources, protocols, and expertise.
"This is an area of evolving care and practice. Fellows should check periodically for revisions and updates. ACOG will communicate important changes and updates to these guidelines," according to the practice advisory.
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