Use of Antibiotic Treatment in Pregnancy and the Risk of Several Neonatal Outcomes: A Population-Based Study

Anna Cantarutti, Federico Rea, Matteo Franchi, Benedetta Beccalli, Anna Locatelli and Giovanni Corrao
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Anna Cantarutti: National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Federico Rea: National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Matteo Franchi: National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Benedetta Beccalli: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Anna Locatelli: Department of Mother and Child, ASST Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy
Giovanni Corrao: National Centre for Healthcare Research and Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Limited evidence is available on the safety and efficacy of antimicrobials during pregnancy, with even less according to the trimester of their use. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to antibiotics therapy (AT) during pregnancy and short-term neonatal outcomes. Methods: We considered 773,237 deliveries that occurred between 2007–2017 in the Lombardy region of Italy. We evaluated the risk of neonatal outcomes among infants that were born to mothers who underwent AT during pregnancy. The odds ratios and the hazard ratios, with the 95% confidence intervals, were estimated respectively for early (first/second trimester) and late (third trimester) exposure. The propensity score was used to account for potential confounders. We also performed subgroup analysis for the class of AT. Results: We identified 132,024 and 76,921 singletons that were exposed to AT during early and late pregnancy, respectively. Infants born to mothers with early exposure had 17, 11, and 16% increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar score, respectively. Infants that were exposed in late pregnancy had 25, 11, and 13% increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar score, respectively. The results were consistent in the subgroup analysis. Conclusion: Our results suggested an increased risk of several neonatal outcomes in women exposed to ATs during pregnancy, albeit we were not able to assess to what extent the observed effects were due to the infection itself. To reduce the risk of neonatal outcomes, women that are prescribed AT during pregnancy should be closely monitored.

Keywords: antibiotic therapy; birth cohort; preterm birth; low birth weight; low Apgar score; pregnancy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12621-:d:691630

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