Dispensing of potentially teratogenic drugs before conception and during pregnancy: a population‐based study. (15th October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zomerdijk, IM; Ruiter, R; Houweling, LMA; Herings, RMC; Straus, SMJM; Stricker, BH
• Is Part Of: BJOG. Volume 122:Number 8(2015:Aug.)
• Page Start: 1119
• Page End: 1129
• Publication Date: 2014-10-15
• Subjects: Obstetrics -- Periodicals; Gynecology -- Periodicals; 618
• DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.13128
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-0328

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="bjo13128-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To study the dispensing of potentially teratogenic drugs in the 12‐month period before as well as during pregnancy in the Netherlands.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Design</title> <p>Population‐based study.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Setting</title> <p>A cohort was constructed using a linkage between the PHARMO Database Network and the Netherlands Perinatal Registry (PRN).</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Population</title> <p>A total of 203 962 Dutch pregnancies reported between 1999 and 2007</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Drug‐dispensing information was identified from the PHARMO Database Network for the 12‐month period before conception and during pregnancy. Drugs with either a Swedish FASS 'D' classification, an Australian ADEC or American FDA 'D' or 'X' classification were considered potentially teratogenic (<italic>n</italic> = 202).</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0006" sec-type="section"> <title>Mean outcome measures</title> <p>Proportion of pregnancies that received potentially teratogenic drugs in the 12‐month period before and during pregnancy and specific for the risk category X drugs and newly initiated drugs.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0007" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Sixteen percent of the pregnancies received a potentially teratogenic drug in the 12‐month period before and 5.07% during pregnancy. Doxycycline and paroxetine were most frequently received during pregnancy by 1.01% and 0.85% of women, respectively; 0.66% of the women received a risk category X drug during pregnancy which most frequently consisted of triptorelin (0.25%), norethisterone (0.22%) and simvastatin (0.03%). Fifty‐three percent of the women who received a potentially teratogenic drug during pregnancy received this for the first time during the study period. These percentages were heterogeneous between therapeutic drug classes.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13128-sec-0008" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Five percent of the pregnancies received a potentially teratogenic drug during pregnancy and 0.66% received a drug from the risk category X. It may be possible to reduce these proportions when reasons for prescription have been explored.</p> </sec> </abstract>