Affiliation:
1. Department of Public Health and Maternal Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal, s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
2. Base de datos para la Investigación Farmacoepidemiológica en el Ámbito Público (BIFAP), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance, Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS), 28022 Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Although pregnant women were considered a risk population for COVID-19, little is known of their drug use during the pandemic. We aimed to investigate COVID-19 distribution, drug use patterns and COVID-19 medication. We conducted a retrospective cohort of validated pregnancies aged 15–49 years, from January 2020 to December 2022, using the BIFAP database. An identified cohort of pregnant women with COVID-19 was matched by age, gestational age, length of pregnancy and outcome to a cohort free of COVID-19 (8413 vs. 24,975). We performed a descriptive analysis on COVID-19 cases, estimated the drug use patterns and assessed COVID-19-specific drugs within the week prior/after diagnosis, stratified by pandemic wave and gestational week. The results showed that 72% of pregnant women with COVID-19 received at least one prescription vs. 66.6% of those free of COVID-19, with analgesics, antibiotics and thyroid hormones being the most prescribed drugs in both groups. In the COVID-19 group, they were antithrombotics (40 prescriptions per 100 women), analgesic/NSAIDs (19.64/6.29) and antibiotics (6.95). COVID-19 cases gradually increased, peaking at the fifth and second waves. Prescription rates were similar when compared to pre-pandemic studies. The use of drugs compatible with COVID-19 treatments was in line with recommendations.
Funder
Instituto de Salud Carlos III
European Union
Subject
Drug Discovery,Pharmaceutical Science,Molecular Medicine