Scientific American
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Pregnant women have historically been excluded from the majority of medical research under the justification of protecting these women and their pregnancies from harm. But when new treatments are not tested in this population, we cannot know whether those treatments are safe and effective.
People who are sick or have chronic conditions can become pregnant, and those who are pregnant can get sick or develop health conditions. More than 90 percent of women take at least one medicine during pregnancy, and a significant portion are given recommended vaccines: the flu shot and Tdap, both of which protect not only the recipient but their family as well.
Children had a median of seven concurrent symptoms, and most children (about 76%) took 10 or more medications. Their median global symptom score (GSS, which ranges from 1 to 100) was 12.1. Per every GSS increase of 10 points, a 12% (95% CI 4%-19%) higher medication count was seen, adjusted for age and number of complex chronic conditions.
“These findings suggest that children with severe neurological impairment reportedly experience substantial symptom burdens and that higher symptom scores are associated with increased medication use,” Feinstein and colleagues wrote. “Paired symptom-medication data may help clinicians identify targets for personalized symptom management, including under-recognized or undertreated symptoms.”
For children who cannot self-report symptoms, no system exists to assess multiple symptoms and their association with medication use, they noted.