Observational study suggests nitrofurantoins may pose little risk of birth defects

Source: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reuters Health Area: News A large observational study in Norway, published in the February edition of the journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, suggests that nitrofurantoins may pose little risk for birth defects when taken during pregnancy.   The researchers studied a Norwegian national birth registry and a national prescription database for pregnancies in 2004-2008 to find 5,794 women exposed to nitrofurantoins (3.2%) at different stages during their pregnancy, (1,334 women (0.7%) in the first trimester and 979 women (0.5%) in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy). They compared the patients to 20,643 women who were treated for UTI with a different antimicrobial drug (pivmecillinam) as a control group, and also to 130,889 women who were not exposed to antimicrobials during their pregnancy.   Dispensing nitrofurantoin during the first trimester was not associated with increased risk of major malformations (31 of 1,334 [2.3%]) compared with disease controls (162 of 5,800 [2.8%], odds ratio ...
Source: NeLM - News - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news