Polypharmacy in polymorbid pregnancies and the risk of congenital malformations—A systematic review
Corresponding Author
Mette Østergaard Thunbo
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Correspondence
Mette Østergaard Thunbo, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorJulie Hauer Vendelbo
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorTabia Volqvartz
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorDaniel R. Witte
Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorAgnete Larsen
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorLars Henning Pedersen
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Mette Østergaard Thunbo
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Correspondence
Mette Østergaard Thunbo, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorJulie Hauer Vendelbo
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorTabia Volqvartz
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorDaniel R. Witte
Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorAgnete Larsen
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorLars Henning Pedersen
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: Aarhus Universitet
Abstract
With an increased prevalence of concurrent morbidities during pregnancy, polypharmacy has become increasingly common in pregnant women. The risks associated with polypharmacy may exceed those of individual medication because of drug–drug interactions. This systematic review aims to evaluate the risk of congenital malformations in polymorbid pregnancies exposed to first-trimester polypharmacy. PubMed, Embase and Scopus were searched to identify original human studies with first- trimester polypharmacy due to polymorbidity as the exposure and congenital malformations as the outcome. After screening of 4034 identified records, seven studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Four of the seven studies reported an increased risk of congenital malformations compared with unexposed or monotherapy, odds ratios ranging from 1.1 to >10.0. Particularly, short-term anti-infective treatment combined with other drugs and P-glycoprotein substrates were associated with increased malformation risks. In conclusion, knowledge is limited on risks associated with first-trimester polypharmacy due to polymorbidity with the underlying evidence of low quantity and quality. Therefore, an increased focus on pharmacovigilance to enable safe drug use in early pregnancy is needed. Large-scale register-based studies and better knowledge of placental biology are needed to support the clinical management of polymorbid pregnancies that require polypharmacy.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
None to declare.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Search strategy and search results are available in the supporting information.
Supporting Information
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