Quadrivalent HPV vaccine not tied to spontaneous abortion

(HealthDay)—The quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (4vHPV) is not associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion when inadvertently given before or during pregnancy, according to a study published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Elyse O. Kharbanda, M.D., M.P.H., from HealthPartners Institute in Minneapolis, and colleagues compared risks for spontaneous abortion after 4vHPV in three exposure windows—distal (16 to 22 weeks before the last menstrual period; 33 percent of participants), peripregnancy (within six weeks before the last menstrual period; 35 percent), and during pregnancy (last menstrual period through 19 weeks of gestation; 32 percent)—among a cohort of 2,800 females 12 to 27 years of age with a pregnancy between 2008 and 2014. Data came from seven integrated health systems within the Vaccine Safety Datalink.

The researchers found that among women with distal 4vHPV exposure, 10.4 percent experienced a spontaneous abortion. Spontaneous abortions occurred in 11.2 percent of women with peripregnancy exposure and 8.6 percent with pregnancy exposure. There was no increased risk of spontaneous abortion among women who received 4vHPV during pregnancy (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.51) or peripregnancy (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.07; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.41).

“This study supports current clinical practice, in which pregnancy testing is not routinely performed before vaccination,” the authors write.

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