Drugs for influenza treatment safe for pregnant women, babies

Washington, Apr 28 (ANI): Tamiflu and two other drugs, which are used to treat influenza, are apparently safe for pregnant women and their babies, according to a new study.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center conducted a retrospective study of 239 cases of women who received the medications during pregnancy and concluded that it provides "reassuring safety data about commonly used medications."

"A woman has to balance the benefits and potential risks of any medication taken during pregnancy. But with influenza, the added risks of complications from the disease in pregnancy need to be considered," said Dr. George Wendel, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study.

"This is the first large study that systematically looked at the safety of all these drugs in pregnancy," he said.

Researchers analysed the medical records of 82,336 women who gave birth at Parkland Memorial Hospital from 2003 to 2008, a period that spanned five flu seasons.

The investigators compared two groups of pregnant women-women without flu and women with flu who had received one of three oral medications marketed under the brands Tamiflu, Relenza and Flumadine. Of the women studied, 239 had flu and had been treated with one of the three medications.

The study showed no difference in the mothers' rates of preeclampsia, preterm birth, gestational diabetes, premature membrane rupture, fever during labor or prolonged hospital stay.

After birth, there was no difference in birth weight, need for intensive care, seizures or jaundice among the babies.

There also was no significant difference in stillbirths or major or minor malformations that could be attributed to the medications, showed the study.

The only significant difference involved a bowel condition, necrotizing enterocolitis, often associated with prematurity.

Two premature babies in the treatment group were born with this condition.

However, each of the mothers received a different anti-flu drug, so the prematurity may have been the major common factor, said Dr. Laura Greer, lead author of the paper.

One limitation of study was that only 13 percent of the women with flu were treated during the first trimester, a critical time in fetal development.

"Overall, this study provides important safety data to guide clinicians and patients in treating influenza in pregnancy," said Greer.

The study appears in the April issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (ANI)