Dataset Information

COVID-19 and pregnancy: A European study on pre- and post-infection medication use.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medication needs and prescribing practices, including those affecting pregnant women. Our goal was to investigate patterns of medication use among pregnant women with COVID-19, focusing on variations by trimester of infection and location.

Methods

We conducted an observational study using six electronic healthcare databases from six European regions (Aragon/Spain; France; Norway; Tuscany, Italy; Valencia/Spain; and Wales/UK). The prevalence of primary care prescribing or dispensing was compared in the 30-day periods before and after a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis.

Results

The study included 294,126 pregnant women, of whom 8943 (3.0%) tested positive for, or were diagnosed with, COVID-19 during their pregnancy. A significantly higher use of antithrombotic medications was observed particularly after COVID-19 infection in the second and third trimesters. The highest increase was observed in the Valencia region where use of antithrombotic medications in the third trimester increased from 3.8% before COVID-19 to 61.9% after the infection. Increases in other countries were lower; for example, in Norway, the prevalence of antithrombotic medication use changed from around 1-2% before to around 6% after COVID-19 in the third trimester. Smaller and less consistent increases were observed in the use of other drug classes, such as antimicrobials and systemic corticosteroids.

Conclusion

Our findings highlight the substantial impact of COVID-19 on primary care medication use among pregnant women, with a marked increase in the use of antithrombotic medications post-COVID-19. These results underscore the need for further research to understand the broader implications of these patterns on maternal and neonatal/fetal health outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Hurley E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11001745 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

COVID-19 and pregnancy: A European study on pre- and post-infection medication use.

Hurley Eimir E Geisler Benjamin P BP Lupattelli Angela A Poblador-Plou Beatriz B Lassalle Régis R Jové Jérémy J Bernard Marie-Agnes MA Sakr Dunia D Sanfélix-Gimeno Gabriel G Sánchez-Saez Francisco F Rodríguez-Bernal Clara L CL Sabaté Mònica M Ballarín Elena E Aguilera Cristina C Jordan Sue S Thayer Daniel D Farr Ian I Ahmed Saira S Bartolini Claudia C Limoncella Giorgio G Paoletti Olga O Gini Rosa R Maglanoc Luigi A LA Dudukina Elena E Ehrenstein Vera V Alsina Ema E Vaz Tiago A TA Riera-Arnau Judit J Sturkenboom Miriam C J M MCJM Nordeng Hedvig M E HME

European journal of clinical pharmacology 20240212 5

<h4>Purpose</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted medication needs and prescribing practices, including those affecting pregnant women. Our goal was to investigate patterns of medication use among pregnant women with COVID-19, focusing on variations by trimester of infection and location.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted an observational study using six electronic healthcare databases from six European regions (Aragon/Spain; France; Norway; Tuscany, Italy; Valencia/Spain; and Wales/UK). The prevalen ...[more]

PMID: 38347228

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe association between obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) and pattern of medication use during pregnancy in the United States is not well-studied. Higher pre-pregnancy BMI may be associated with increases or decreases in medication use across pregnancy as symptoms (e.g. reflux) or comorbidities (e.g. gestational diabetes) requiring treatment that may be associated with higher BMI could also change with advancing gestation.ObjectivesTo determine whether prenatal medication use, by the number and types of medications, varies by pre-pregnancy obesity status.MethodsIn a secondary data analysis of a racially/ethnically diverse prospective cohort of pregnant women with low risk for fetal abnormalities enrolled in the first trimester of pregnancy and followed to delivery (singleton, 12 United States clinical sites), free text medication data were obtained at enrollment and up to five follow-up visits and abstracted from medical records at delivery.ResultsIn 436 women with obesity and 1750 women without obesity (pre-pregnancy BMI, 19-29.9 kg/m2), more than 70% of pregnant women (77% of women with and 73% of women without obesity) reported taking at least one medication during pregnancy, respectively (adjusted risk ratio (aRR)=1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01, 1.20), with 81% reporting two and 69% reporting three or more. A total of 17 classes of medications were identified. Among medication classes consumed by at least 5% of all women, the only class that differed between women with and without obesity was hormones and synthetic substitutes (including steroids, progesterone, diabetes, and thyroid medications) in which women with obesity took more medications (11 vs. 5%, aRR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.38, 2.61) compared to women without obesity. Within this class, a higher percentage of women with obesity took diabetes medications (2.3 vs. 0.7%) and progesterone (3.4 vs. 1.3%) than their non-obese counterparts. Similar percentages of women with and without obesity reported consuming medications in the remaining medication classes including central nervous system agents (50 and 46%), gastrointestinal drugs (43 and 40%), anti-infective agents (23 and 21%), antihistamines (20 and 17%), autonomic drugs (10 and 9%), and respiratory tract agents (7 and 6%), respectively (p > 0.05 for all adjusted comparisons). There were no differences in medication use by obesity status across gestation. Since the study exclusion criteria limited the non-obese group to women without thyroid disease, in a sensitivity analysis we excluded all women who reported thyroid medication intake and still a higher proportion of women with obesity took the hormones and synthetic substitutes class compared to women without obesity.ConclusionOur findings suggest that pre-pregnancy obesity in otherwise healthy women is associated with a higher use of only selected medications (such as diabetes medications and progesterone) during pregnancy, while the intake of other more common medication types such as analgesics, antibiotics, and antacids does not vary by pre-pregnancy obesity status. As medication safety information for prenatal consumption is insufficient for many medications, these findings highlight the need for a more in-depth examination of factors associated with prenatal medication use.

Project description:BackgroundImproving patient's medication knowledge and consequently medication use is essential for optimal treatment outcomes. As patient knowledge about medication is currently suboptimal, interventions to optimise medication knowledge are necessary. Implementation of Patient's Own Medication (POM) in which patients bring their outpatient medication to the hospital, and nurses administer these during admission, may increase medication knowledge. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of POM use on self-reported medication knowledge of hospitalised patients compared to standard care. Patient's sense of medication safety, attitude to the provision of information, and to inpatient medication use were studied in both standard care and during POM use too.MethodIn this nationwide intervention study perceived medication knowledge was assessed with a questionnaire pre and post implementing POM use. The questionnaire assessed perceived medication knowledge at admission and discharge, medication safety during hospitalisation, the provision of information during hospitalisation and at discharge, and inpatient medication use during hospitalisation. Patients' answers were categorised into positive and negative/neutral. The proportion of patients with adequate medication knowledge, in the standard care and POM use group at hospital admission and discharge, were calculated and compared with adjustment for potential confounders.ResultsAmong the 731 patients (393 received standard care and 338 POM) who completed the questionnaire (80.2%), POM use seemed to be positively associated with self-reported knowledge on how to use medication at discharge (adjusted OR: 3.22 [95% CI 2.01-5.16]). However, for the other two knowledge related statements POM use was not associated. Medication knowledge at admission was the most important variable associated with perceived medication knowledge at discharge. The majority perceived POM use to be safer (52.9% of standard care patients versus 74.0% POM users; P < 0.01), POM users knew better which medicines they still used during hospitalisation (85.8% versus 92.3% resp.; P = 0.01), and most patients preferred POM use regardless of having experienced it (68.2% versus 82.2% resp.; P < 0.01).ConclusionPOM use positively affects patient's medication knowledge about how to use medication and patients' perception of medication safety. With POM use more patients have a positive attitude towards the provision of information. The majority of patients prefer POM use. In conclusion, POM use seems a valuable intervention and requires further investigation.

Project description:Intercountry comparability between studies on medication use in pregnancy is difficult due to dissimilarities in study design and methodology. This study aimed to examine patterns and factors associated with medications use in pregnancy from a multinational perspective, with emphasis on type of medication utilised and indication for use.Cross-sectional, web-based study performed within the period from 1 October 2011 to 29 February 2012. Uniform collection of drug utilisation data was performed via an anonymous online questionnaire.Multinational study in Europe (Western, Northern and Eastern), North and South America and Australia.Pregnant women and new mothers with children less than 1 year of age.Prevalence of and factors associated with medication use for acute/short-term illnesses, chronic/long-term disorders and over-the-counter (OTC) medication use.The study population included 9459 women, of which 81.2% reported use of at least one medication (prescribed or OTC) during pregnancy. Overall, OTC medication use occurred in 66.9% of the pregnancies, whereas 68.4% and 17% of women reported use of at least one medication for treatment of acute/short-term illnesses and chronic/long-term disorders, respectively. The extent of self-reported medicated illnesses and types of medication used by indication varied across regions, especially in relation to urinary tract infections, depression or OTC nasal sprays. Women with higher age or lower educational level, housewives or women with an unplanned pregnancy were those most often reporting use of medication for chronic/long-term disorders. Immigrant women in Western (adjusted OR (aOR): 0.55, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.87) and Northern Europe (aOR: 0.50, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.83) were less likely to report use of medication for chronic/long-term disorders during pregnancy than non-immigrants.In this study, the majority of women in Europe, North America, South America and Australia used at least one medication during pregnancy. There was a substantial inter-region variability in the types of medication used.

Dataset Information

COVID-19 and pregnancy: A European study on pre- and post-infection medication use.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

COVID-19 and pregnancy: A European study on pre- and post-infection medication use.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets