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Ethosuximide in epileptic women during pregnancy and lactation period. Placental transfer, serum concentrations in nursed infants and clinical status.
Author(s) -
Kuhnz W,
Koch S,
Jakob S,
Hartmann A,
Helge H,
Nau H
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1984.tb02528.x
Subject(s) - ethosuximide , lactation , medicine , pregnancy , obstetrics , serum concentration , endocrinology , epilepsy , anticonvulsant , biology , psychiatry , genetics
A total of 10 epileptic mothers treated with ethosuximide (ES) as well as their 13 newborns were included in this study. At birth foetal/maternal serum concentration ratios were 0.97 +/‐ 0.02 (n = 7) and ES half‐lives in three neonates were 32, 37 and 38 h. The breast milk concentrations of ES were similar to those in maternal serum (milk/serum: 0.86 +/‐ 0.08, n = 12) and the nursed infants maintained serum levels between 15 and 40 micrograms/ml. Two major malformations (bilateral clefting, hare‐lip) were observed in two neonates whose mothers received either ES/PB or ES/PMD comedication. The number of minor anomalies was higher in the ES group (6.2, n = 12) than in the pair‐matched control group of infants born to non‐epileptic mothers (2.1, n = 10). Neonatal behaviour complications occurred in seven infants, two of them were severely affected.