Antivirals for Expectant Moms Did Not Harm Babies Neuraminidase inhibitors not tied to increased risks of adverse outcomes

Pregnant women who took the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) during pregnancy did not have an increased risk of adverse neonatal outcomes, according to a study of European registries. Instead, exposure to neuraminidase inhibitors was linked with a slightly reduced risk of low birth weight (adjusted odds ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.91) and giving birth to a small for gestational age infant (adjusted OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.59-0.87), reported Sophie Graner, MD, of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and colleagues. This study included the period of the 2009-2010 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic, the authors noted, when the number of women who took neuraminidase inhibitors during pregnancy "increased markedly" compared with previous years, they wrote in BMJ. The authors said that they wanted to evaluate risk of adverse outcomes associated with taking antivirals during pregnancy, due to "the uncertainty about the aggressiveness of the next pandemic virus outbreak and the possibility of spreading in vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, means that preparedness is critical." http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/63481?xid=nl_mpt_Weekly_Education_2017-03-08&eun=g5883165d1r