Authors
Andrade, Susan E.Raebel, Marsha A.
Brown, Jeffrey S.
Lane, Kimberly
Livingston, James
Boudreau, Denise M.
Rolnick, Sharon J.
Roblin, Douglas W.
Smith, David H.
Dal Pan, Gerald J.
Scott, Pamela E.
Platt, Richard
UMass Chan Affiliations
Meyers Primary Care InstituteDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2008-03-18Keywords
AdolescentAdult
Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Antihypertensive Agents
Cardiovascular Agents
Databases, Factual
Female
Health Maintenance Organizations
Humans
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
use
Hypolipidemic Agents
Middle Aged
Outpatients
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Teratogens
United States
Health Services Research
Maternal and Child Health
Primary Care
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
PURPOSE: To provide information on the prevalence of use of cardiovascular drugs, some of which may have fetotoxic or teratogenic effects, in the outpatient setting among pregnant women in the United States. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using the automated databases of seven health plans participating in the HMO Research Network Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT). Women who delivered an infant from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005 were identified. Cardiovascular drug use was evaluated assuming a gestational duration of 270 days. RESULTS: During the period 2001 through 2005, 118,935 deliveries were identified that met the criteria for study; 3.1% of women (N = 3672) were dispensed an antihypertensive medication and 0.12% of women (N = 146) were dispensed an antihyperlipidemic medication at any time during pregnancy. The most common antihypertensive drugs dispensed during pregnancy were nifedipine (1219 deliveries; 1.0%), methyldopa (961 deliveries; 0.8%), atenolol (593 deliveries; 0.5%), and labetalol (576 deliveries; 0.5%). Overall, 134 women (0.11%) received an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and 7 women (0.006%) received an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) during pregnancy. Statins were the most commonly dispensed antihyperlipidemic drugs (71 deliveries; 0.06%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of use of cardiovascular drugs that are suspected to be fetotoxic or teratogenic (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and statins) was low in this cohort of pregnant women. Differing patterns of use across health plans suggests that further research is needed to evaluate the potential differential effects of cardiovascular drugs to assist prescribers and patients in making informed treatment decisions.Source
Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2008 Mar;17(3):240-7. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1002/pds.1550Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/37035PubMed ID
18200619Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/pds.1550