Can Anakinra and corticosteroid treatment be an effective option in pregnant women with severe Covid-19?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Anakinra, which is an Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist with the advancing disease process, has started to be considered as an alternative treatment for Covid-19 patients with cytokine storms. We evaluated the effect of corticosteroids and IL-1 receptor blockage with anakinra on pregnant patients with Covid-19 at high risk for respiratory distress, ongoing fever, deterioration in their general condition and consequently maternal and fetal complications. Fourteen pregnant women who received anakinra (median dosage: 400 mg) and corticosteroid (methylprednisolone-median dosage: 80 mg) treatment were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were assessed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) scale. The mortality rate of the cohort was 7.1%, the median hospitalization period of the patients was 15 days and 2 patients had premature births. Covid-19 was found to have a similar spectrum of symptoms in pregnant and non-pregnant women, such as dyspnea, cough and fever. Our study was the first to analyze the combined treatment of corticosteroid and anakinra in pregnant patients with pneumonia from Covid-19 based on the WHO scoring system. Due to the obscurity in the treatment process in pregnant patients, studies are ongoing on managing Covid-19 infection in these patients. We presume that the early use of anakinra and corticosteroid treatments in patients severely infected with Covid-19 may have positive effects on disease progression and survival.