Abstract: Objectives We aim to study the relative viral load using saliva polymerasechain reaction among pregnant women treated with Paxlovid. Methods Pregnant women withcoronavirus disease 2019 were allocated to two groups: those receiving Paxlovid and thosereceiving no antiviral agents. We compared the nasopharyngeal and salivary relative viralloads and their changes in saliva specimens. Results Among the 38 pregnant women,seventeen received Paxlovid, and 21 received no antiviral agents. The viral cyclethreshold value of saliva was significantly higher than that from nasopharynx, with amedian ± interquartile range of 26.44 ± 7.68 versus 17.6 ± 9.6 in the Paxlovid group (p =0.005). Following treatment, the Paxlovid group showed a significant decrease in relativesaliva viral load (cycle threshold value on Day 4/Day 5 minus Day 0) compared to thenon-antiviral group (13.40 ± 5.64 versus -1.59 ± 9.63, p = 0.021). The detection rate ofcoronavirus disease 2019 using salivary polymerase chain reaction was 81.6% (31/38).Conclusions This study showed that saliva is a useful diagnostic tool for coronavirusdisease 2019 in pregnant women, and a significant decrease in the relative viral load ofsaliva was observed in those treated with Paxlovid.
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Drug: Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (Paxlovid)
After providing the potential benefits and associated risks of antiviral treatment with
Paxlovid, patients made well-informed decisions about whether or not to receive Paxlovid
(300/100 mg nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA) twice daily for 5
days.
Inclusion Criteria:
- This study enrolled pregnant women admitted to NCKUH 70 who tested positive for
COVID-19 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of
nasopharyngeal swab specimens. After providing the potential benefits and associated
risks of antiviral treatment with Paxlovid, patients made a well-informed decision
about whether or not to receive Paxlovid (300/100 mg nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, Pfizer
Inc., USA) twice daily for 5 days.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnant women were excluded if the time interval between the onset of symptoms and
admission to our hospital was greater than seven days, in the case of insufficient
saliva samples, or if any antiviral-related agents were administered, such as
remdesivir, glucocorticoids, or interleukin-6 receptor antagonists.
National Cheng 68 Kung University Hospital
Tainan City 1668355, Taiwan
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