Remdesivir Therapy versus Standard Care in Hospitalized Pregnant Women with Moderate and Severe COVID-19 in a Tertiary Care Center of Dubai: A Quasi-experimental Study

Background: Pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely to be hospitalized and require respiratory support than non-pregnant women. There is little published data on Remdesivir use in pregnant women with COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the clinical course and obstetric outcomes for pregnant women with COVID-19 administered Remdesivir versus standard therapy.

Methods: We conducted a non-randomized quasi experimental study among 100 pregnant women with moderate or severe COVID-19 who were admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Dubai between 18 January and 31 March 2021. We compared women receiving Remdesivir (treatment arm) and women receiving standard therapy (control arm).

Results: More women in the Remdesivir group had normal vaginal delivery (n=17, 39.5%) than controls (n=9, 20.5%). Newborn Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were similar in both groups. The mean standard deviation time to recovery and discharge was lower for patients receiving Remdesivir than controls (8.4\(\pm\)3.3 versus 13.6\(\pm\)9.2 days). Fewer treated patients required intensive care; at 60- day follow-up, all women on Remdesivir were doing well whereas six (12.0%) women on standard therapy had died.

Conclusions: Pregnant women with moderate or severe COVID-19 treated early with Remdesivir showed an overall better clinical course and outcomes than those on standard therapy.