The group wrote that their findings confirm public health recommendations for early antiviral treatment and flu vaccination for pregnant women. They urged that pregnant women with flu symptoms receive empirical antiviral treatment without waiting for the results of diagnostic tests. They also said the data suggest an antiviral benefit, even when treatment is started as many as 4 days after symptom onset. Findings support a continued push for pandemic flu vaccination in pregnant women, the group wrote. An earlier CDC study suggested that pandemic vaccine uptake was about 38% in pregnant women, which is higher than for the seasonal flu vaccine but not as high as health officials had hoped.
Kevin Ault, MD, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, told CIDRAP News that antiviral therapy looks very impressive in the study. "It's clear that this is going to tip the balance toward treatment," he said.
Though the public health officials have advised early antiviral treatment for several months now, the study adds backbone to the recommendations, he said. The medical literature has some data about uptake of the pandemic vaccine in pregnant women, but not much is known about use of antivirals, Ault said. He added that the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology came out early with e-mail pitches about antiviral use in this group to physicians, which he says has helped build awareness in the medical community on the importance of early antiviral treatment for pregnant women.
Siston AM, Rasmussen SA, Honein MA, et al. Pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus illness among pregnant women in the United States. JAMA 2010 Apr 21;303(15):1517-25 [Abstract]
