Preeclampsia affects about 3-5% of all pregnancies and is estimated to cause at least 42 000 maternal deaths annually, remaining an important cause of death and complications for the mother and baby. However, no treatment yet has been found that affects disease progression except for termination of pregnancy which may cause iatrogenic preterm labor. Therefore, keenly sought for approaches to improving clinical outcomes in pre-eclampsia would be needed.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an antimalarial drug, is commonly used in the treatment of pregnant women with RSA and has proven to be safe for both the mother and the fetus. Because of the antioxidant effect, anti-inflammatory effect, and vasculoprotective effect of HCQ, it has been thought to be beneficial in the prevention of preeclampsia.
Therefore, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the impact of HCQ treatment on the prevention of preeclampsia in RSA pregnancies.