Is Hydroxychloroquine Safe During Pregnancy? Observations from Penn Medicine

Abstract

A novel strain of coronavirus appeared in December 2019. Over the next few months, this novel coronavirus spread throughout the world, being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As of this writing (March 28, 2020) over one hundred thousand individuals in the United States of America were confirmed cases. One way of treating the associated disease, COVID-19, is to reuse existing FDA-approved medications. One medication that has shown promise is hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). However, the utility and safety of HCQ among pregnant COVID-19 patients remains a concern.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Immunological approaches and emerging pharmacologic treatments

“…Another aspect of these drugs is the possibility of using them in different conditions such as pregnancy. A majority of studies conducted on HCQ did not reflect any serious concerns, and this drug seems to be safe for pregnant women [78] . Besides, as mentioned by Lother et al [79] , clinical trials for the assessment of medicines as post-exposure prophylaxis could be helpful.…”