TY - JOUR
T1 - The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce
T2 - pregnancy and perinatal guidelines
AU - Homer, Caroline S.E.
AU - Roach, Vijay
AU - Cusack, Leila
AU - Giles, Michelle L.
AU - Whitehead, Clare
AU - Burton, Wendy
AU - Downton, Teena
AU - Gleeson, Glenda
AU - Gordon, Adrienne
AU - Hose, Karen
AU - Hunt, Jenny
AU - Kitschke, Jackie
AU - McDonnell, Nolan
AU - Middleton, Philippa F
AU - Oats, Jeremy J N
AU - Shand, Antonia W.
AU - Wilton, Kellie
AU - Vogel, Joshua Peter
AU - Elliott, Julian H.
AU - McGloughlin, Steve
AU - McDonald, Steve
AU - White, Heath
AU - Cheyne, Saskia
AU - Turner, Tari J.
AU - for the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce
N1 - Funding Information:
The National COVID‐19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce staff are: Tari Turner, Leila Cusack, Joshua Vogel, Julian Elliot, Steve McGloughlin, Steve McDonald, Heath White and Saskia Cheyne. The National COVID‐19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, the Victorian Government Department of Health, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Walter Cottman Endowment Fund (managed by Equity Trustees), and the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. The funders played no role in developing the pregnancy and perinatal guidelines, writing this article, or deciding to submit this article for publication. The Taskforce panel members are all volunteers and provide their valuable time at no cost, for which we are very appreciative.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - Introduction: Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than non-pregnant women of a similar age. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that evidenced-based guidance was needed, and that it would need to be updated rapidly. The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce provided a resource to guide care for people with COVID-19, including during pregnancy. Care for pregnant and breastfeeding women and their babies was included as a priority when the Taskforce was set up, with a Pregnancy and Perinatal Care Panel convened to guide clinical practice. Main recommendations: As of May 2022, the Taskforce has made seven specific recommendations on care for pregnant women and those who have recently given birth. This includes supporting usual practices for the mode of birth, umbilical cord clamping, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, rooming-in, and using antenatal corticosteroids and magnesium sulfate as clinically indicated. There are 11 recommendations for COVID-19-specific treatments, including conditional recommendations for using remdesivir, tocilizumab and sotrovimab. Finally, there are recommendations not to use several disease-modifying treatments for the treatment of COVID-19, including hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The recommendations are continually updated to reflect new evidence, and the most up-to-date guidance is available online (https://covid19evidence.net.au). Changes in management resulting from the guidelines: The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce has been a critical component of the infrastructure to support Australian maternity care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taskforce has shown that a rapid living guidelines approach is feasible and acceptable.
AB - Introduction: Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than non-pregnant women of a similar age. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that evidenced-based guidance was needed, and that it would need to be updated rapidly. The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce provided a resource to guide care for people with COVID-19, including during pregnancy. Care for pregnant and breastfeeding women and their babies was included as a priority when the Taskforce was set up, with a Pregnancy and Perinatal Care Panel convened to guide clinical practice. Main recommendations: As of May 2022, the Taskforce has made seven specific recommendations on care for pregnant women and those who have recently given birth. This includes supporting usual practices for the mode of birth, umbilical cord clamping, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, rooming-in, and using antenatal corticosteroids and magnesium sulfate as clinically indicated. There are 11 recommendations for COVID-19-specific treatments, including conditional recommendations for using remdesivir, tocilizumab and sotrovimab. Finally, there are recommendations not to use several disease-modifying treatments for the treatment of COVID-19, including hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The recommendations are continually updated to reflect new evidence, and the most up-to-date guidance is available online (https://covid19evidence.net.au). Changes in management resulting from the guidelines: The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce has been a critical component of the infrastructure to support Australian maternity care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taskforce has shown that a rapid living guidelines approach is feasible and acceptable.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Fetomaternal medicine
KW - Maternal health
KW - Neonatology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139102808&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5694/mja2.51729
DO - 10.5694/mja2.51729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85139102808
SN - 0025-729X
VL - 219
SP - S14-S19
JO - The Medical Journal of Australia
JF - The Medical Journal of Australia
IS - S9
ER -