Can i take plaquenil while pregnant
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On March 28, , the U. It has an excellent safety profile even in patients who have taken the drug for many years to control disease Ponticelli and Moroni Nevertheless, it remains a prescription drug that should only be administered under medical supervision. The most common adverse effects, especially for long-term use over five years, include retinopathy, which leads to damage of the retina and therefore to loss of sight, and cardiotoxicity, which leads to damage of the heart and potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmias Abbasi et al.
The risk for these effects remains small: HCQ-induced retinopathy is a concern for only 0. When taken daily at doses of mg or less, HCQ is not associated with increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes Birru Talabi and Clowse ; Costedoat-Chalumeau et al.
In one study, consecutive pregnancies in 90 women treated with mg of HCQ either twice daily pregnancies or once daily 11 pregnancies were compared with 70 consecutive pregnancies in 53 women with similar disorders who did not receive HCQ Costedoat-Chalumeau et al. The outcomes of pregnancy were not statistically different between groups. No visual, hearing, growth, or developmental abnormalities were reported in any of the children at the last follow-up.
In another study, a comparison of HCQ-exposed pregnancies Notably, the gestational delivery was earlier, the rate of preterm delivery was higher and the birth rate was lower among HCQ pregnancies, though it is not clear if these outcomes were related more to maternal disease rather than to HCQ use.
Among 13 infants of mothers with SLE who were breastfed, all had normal development and visual function Motta et al. A review of infants exposed to HCQ during pregnancy showed that their visual acuity did not differ from the control group Osadchy, Ratnapalan, and Koren The consensus opinion among different professional medical organizations including the American College of Rheumatology Sammaritano et al.
Notice: Information presented here is for educational purposes only. No material in this paper is intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment, or before undertaking a new health care regimen. Brain development continues throughout pregnancy. Exposure to hydroxychloroquine does not seem to affect childhood development, based on studies of approximately children studied up to the age of three years.
Further research, following up children to school age, is ideally required to support this finding. Use of hydroxychloroquine in pregnancy does not require extra monitoring. Women with conditions that hydroxychloroquine is used to treat will be more closely monitored during pregnancy to ensure that they remain well and that their baby is growing and developing as expected.
There is currently no evidence that hydroxychloroquine used by the father can harm the baby through effects on the sperm, and most experts agree that this is unlikely.
If you have any questions regarding the information in this leaflet, please discuss them with your health care provider. They can access more detailed medical and scientific information from www. Do you have 3 minutes to complete a short, quick and simple 12 question user feedback form about our bumps information leaflets? To have your say on how we can improve our website and the information we provide please visit here. Up to 1 out of every 5 pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, and 1 in 40 babies are born with a birth defect.
The use of hydroxychloroquine Plaquenil during pregnancy among women with systemic lupus erythematosus SLE was associated with improved fetal outcomes, a single-center French study found. Among women taking hydroxychloroquine while pregnant, preterm birth before 37 weeks occurred in Pierre, and colleagues. And the rate of intrauterine growth restriction was significantly lower in the hydroxychloroquine-treated group Despite recent improvements in care and multidisciplinary approaches being used, pregnancy remains risky for women with SLE, with morbidity and mortality continuing to be increased.
Hydroxychloroquine has been shown to improve maternal disease activity, reducing the frequency of flares and thrombotic events, and continuing the drug during pregnancy has been recommended.