COVID-19 Treatment: Drug Safety Prior to Conception and During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
- PMID: 33487665
- PMCID: PMC7815333
- DOI: 10.1055/a-1247-5271
COVID-19 Treatment: Drug Safety Prior to Conception and During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Abstract
In December 2019, a new viral respiratory infection known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first diagnosed in the city of Wuhan, China. COVID-19 quickly spread across the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The disease is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a similar virus to those involved in other epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Epidemiological studies have shown that COVID-19 frequently affects young adults of reproductive age and that the elderly and patients with chronic disease have high mortality rates. Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and breastfeeding. Most COVID-19 cases present with mild flu-like symptoms and only require treatment with symptomatic relief medications, whereas other cases with COVID-19 require treatment in an intensive care unit. There is currently no specific effective treatment for COVID-19. A large number of drugs are being used to fight infection by SARS-CoV-2. Experience with this therapeutic arsenal has been gained over the years in the treatment of other viral, autoimmune, parasitic, and bacterial diseases. Importantly, the search for an effective treatment for COVID-19 cannot expose pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 to the potential teratogenic risks of these drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to determine and understand the safety of anti-COVID-19 therapies prior to conception and during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Im Dezember 2019 wurde erstmals eine neue virale Atemwegserkrankung, die den Namen Coronavirus-Erkrankung 2019 (COVID-19) bekam, in der chinesischen Stadt Wuhan diagnostiziert. COVID-19 verbreitete sich rasch über die ganze Welt, was die Weltgesundheitsorganisation veranlasste, am 11. März 2020 eine Pandemie auszurufen. Die neuartige Erkrankung wird von einem Virus aus der Familie der Coronaviridae hervorgerufen und wird SARS-CoV-2 ( s evere a cute r espiratory s yndrome co rono v irus type 2 ) genannt. SARS-CoV-2 trägt ähnliche Merkmale wie Viren, die bei anderen Epidemien als Erreger auftraten, z. B. SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) und MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). Epidemiologische Studien haben gezeigt, dass COVID-19 oft junge Erwachsene im fortpflanzungsfähigen Alter befällt und dass die Sterberaten bei älteren Menschen und Menschen mit chronischen Erkrankungen hoch sind. Über die Auswirkungen von COVID-19 während der Schwangerschaft und in der Stillzeit ist wenig bekannt. Die meisten Fälle mit COVID-19 haben milde grippeähnliche Symptome und benötigen Medikamente nur, um die Symptome zu bekämpfen. Andere Patienten hingegen müssen auf der Intensivstation behandelt werden. Es gibt derzeit keine spezifische, effektive Behandlung gegen COVID-19. Es werden aber eine ganze Reihe von Medikamenten eingesetzt, um gegen die Infektion mit SARS-CoV-2 zu kämpfen. Die Erfahrungen mit diesem therapeutischen Arsenal wurden über Jahrzehnte hinweg durch ihren Einsatz gegen andere virale, autoimmune, parasitäre und bakterielle Erkrankungen gesammelt. Wichtig ist, dass bei der Suche nach einer effektiven Behandlung gegen COVID-19 keine schwangeren Frauen mit SARS-CoV-2 den möglichen teratogenen Risiken dieser Therapeutika ausgesetzt werden. Es ist daher nötig, die Sicherheit von Anti-COVID-19-Therapien präkonzeptionell sowie während der Schwangerschaft und in der Stillzeit zu bestimmen.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral; breastfeeding; pregnancy.
The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Conflict of interest statement
Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Coronavirus diseases and pregnancy: COVID-19,SARS, and MERS.Przegl Epidemiol. 2020;74(2):276-289. doi: 10.32394/pe.74.21. Przegl Epidemiol. 2020. PMID: 33112124
-
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) infection during late pregnancy: a report of 18 patients from Wuhan, China.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020 Jul 8;20(1):394. doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03026-3. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020. PMID: 32641013 Free PMC article.
-
Potential Maternal and Infant Outcomes from (Wuhan) Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Infecting Pregnant Women: Lessons from SARS, MERS, and Other Human Coronavirus Infections.Viruses. 2020 Feb 10;12(2):194. doi: 10.3390/v12020194. Viruses. 2020. PMID: 32050635 Free PMC article.
-
Pathogenesis-directed therapy of 2019 novel coronavirus disease.J Med Virol. 2021 Mar;93(3):1320-1342. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26610. Epub 2020 Nov 10. J Med Virol. 2021. PMID: 33073355 Review.
-
The Coronavirus Pandemic: What Does the Evidence Show?J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2020 Apr 19;18(1):1-9. doi: 10.33314/jnhrc.v18i1.2596. J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2020. PMID: 32335585 Review.
Cited by
-
COVID-19 and Pregnancy: An Updated Review about Evidence-Based Therapeutic Strategies.J Pers Med. 2023 Jun 23;13(7):1035. doi: 10.3390/jpm13071035. J Pers Med. 2023. PMID: 37511648 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Strategies for the Emergency Treatment of Pregnant Women with Neurological Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Aging Dis. 2023 Apr 1;14(2):290-298. doi: 10.14336/AD.2022.0718. eCollection 2023 Apr 1. Aging Dis. 2023. PMID: 37008058 Free PMC article.
-
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Delivery of Gynecology and Obstetrics Services at a Maximum Care University Hospital in Germany.Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2022 Apr 5;82(4):427-440. doi: 10.1055/a-1687-9674. eCollection 2022 Apr. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2022. PMID: 35392066 Free PMC article.
-
The Association of Serum Electrolytes with Disease Severity and Obstetric Complications in Pregnant Women with COVID-19: a Prospective Cohort Study from a Tertiary Reference Center.Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2022 Mar 3;82(3):326-332. doi: 10.1055/a-1577-3249. eCollection 2022 Mar. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2022. PMID: 35250381 Free PMC article.
-
Pharmacological Treatments against COVID-19 in Pregnant Women.J Clin Med. 2021 Oct 24;10(21):4896. doi: 10.3390/jcm10214896. J Clin Med. 2021. PMID: 34768416 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- World Health Organization (WHO) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dashboardAccessed June 04, 2020 at:https://covid19.who.int/
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous