# 4654
One of the more worrisome aspects going into pandemic of 2009 was the sheer lack of data on the safety of using antivirals on women who were pregnant.
Public Health officials very early on had to weigh the benefits of their use during pregnancy against largely unknown risks. Since that time, we’ve seen studies that have shown these drugs were used to good effect (see Study: Antivirals Saved Lives Of Pregnant Women)
In truth, the same situation exists for a wide range of drugs, since clinical trials often exclude pregnant women altogether.
Clinicians are often put in the uncomfortable position of having to assume that these drugs will work in the same way, and at the same dosage, in pregnant patients.
Yet we know that pregnancy alters a woman’s metabolism, and down regulates her immune system. Changes that conceivably could change the way some medications work in their bodies.
From the New England Journal of Medicine today we get a Perspective article on the need to enroll more women in clinical trials.
This is a good article, and well worth reading.
Enrolling Pregnant Women in Research — Lessons from the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic
Sara F. Goldkind, M.D., Leyla Sahin, M.D., and Beverly Gallauresi, M.P.H.
Related Post:
- NEJM: Adult-Onset Immunodeficiency in Thailand and Taiwan
- FDA Statement On Azithromycin & Cardiovascular Risks
- NEJM: Cardiovascular Risks Of Taking Azithromycin
- NEJM: Oseltamivir Resistant H1N1 in Australia
- NEJM: Adjuvanted Flu Vaccine Found Effective In Children
- NEJM: Emergence Of A New Bacterial Cause Of Ehrlichiosis
- NEJM: Study On China’s H1N1 Vaccine Safety
- NEJM: The Age-Old Struggle against the Antivaccinationists
- Referral: NEJM On NDM-1 Threat
- Referral: NEJM Perspective On Influenza Vaccine Uptake
- Results Of CPR Without Rescue Breathing
- CIDRAP On Two NEJM Pandemic H1N1 Studies
- NEJM: Household Transmission Of The H1N1 Virus
- NEJM: Pediatric H1N1 Hospitalizations & Deaths In Argentina
- NEJM: Pregnancy and Postpartum Risks Of Novel H1N1 Infection
- NEJM: Clinical Features Of H1N1 In China
- NEJM: Community Cluster Of Tamiflu Resistant H1N1
- NEJM: Boomers Have More Immunity
- NEJM: Review Of Hospitalized US Patients With Novel H1N1
- NEJM Perspective: Respiratory Protection For HCWs
- WHO: Reducing The Burden Of NCDs
- CDC Study: Risks Of High Sodium, Low Potassium Diets
- A Decided Lack Of Scientific Certainty
- Pandemic Field and Epidemiologic Investigations
- Eurosurveillance: The Temporary Immunity Hypothesis
- Haiti: Three Non-Cholera Health Threats
- RCTs: All That’s Gold Standard Doesn’t Glitter
- Tip-Toeing Through The Minefield
- Of Pregnancy, Flu & Autism
- BMJ: H1N1 Vaccination & Fetal Death Rates
- IDSA: Flu Vaccines In Pregnancy
- UK: Pregnancy And Swine Flu
- Pssst! Immunity . . . Pass it On
- BMJ: Perinatal Outcomes After Maternal 2009/H1N1 Infection
- HHS Webcast Today: Pregnant Women And Flu
- Study: Pandemic H1N1 And Pregnancy
- Study: Antivirals Saved Lives Of Pregnant Women
- Study: Antivirals During Pregnancy
- BMJ Study: Pregnancy & Flu
- Australia: Pregnancy And Flu
- NEJM: Pregnancy and Postpartum Risks Of Novel H1N1 Infection
Widget by [ Iptek-4u ]