Preeclampsia Pregnancies and benefits of Low-Dose Aspirin

Daily low-dose aspirin starting as early as the second trimester of pregnancy appears to prevent morbidity and mortality from preeclampsia among high-risk women, according to a systematic review published online April 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. However, potential rare or long-term harms could not be ruled out.

"Preeclampsia, which is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria during the second half of pregnancy, is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal death," write Jillian T. Henderson, PhD, MPH, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon, and colleagues.

"Previous comprehensive systematic reviews have found antiplatelets (primarily low-dose aspirin) to be beneficial for the prevention of preeclampsia among women at heightened risk. We conducted this systematic review to support the US Preventive Services Task Force [USPSTF] in updating its 1996 recommendation, which is no longer active."

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Vaccine Reduces Influenza Risk in Mothers and Newborns

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — When pregnant women receive the flu vaccine, their risk of developing influenza is halved, as is the risk to their newborns in the first 24 weeks of life, new research shows.

"This is the first randomized controlled study to actually confirm that vaccination is efficacious in pregnant women, and only the second randomized controlled trial to show protection of the infant," said Shabir Madhi, MD, PhD, professor of vaccinology at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

"Our data support the recent WHO recommendation in terms of prioritizing pregnant women for influenza vaccination, not just for the protection of the mother, but protection of the infant as well," he told Medscape Medical News.

Dr. Madhi presented the results here at the 16th International Congress on Infectious Diseases.

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