December 17, 2020

Inclusion of Pregnant Women in COVID-19 Treatment Trials: A Review and Global Call to Action

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): pregnancy, treatment

• A review of COVID-19 treatment trials throughout different timepoints in the pandemic found that a substantial portion of trials listed pregnancy as an exclusion criterion. A review in April found that 80% (124/155) of trials excluded pregnant persons, with a similar finding of 75% (538/722) in July. Among studies focusing on therapeutic drugs (including remdesivir), 74% (130/176) listed pregnancy as an exclusion criterion. Of 35 studies evaluating high-dose vitamin treatment, 77% (27/35) excluded pregnant persons. The authors concluded that exclusion was often not well justified, as many of the treatments evaluated have few or no safety concerns during pregnancy.

Taylor et al. (Dec 16, 2020). Inclusion of Pregnant Women in COVID-19 Treatment Trials: A Review and Global Call to Action. The Lancet Global Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30484-8