Clinical, ethical, and socioeconomic considerations for prescription drug use during pregnancy in women suffering from chronic diseases

Tzouma, Victoria, Grepstad, Mari, Grimaccia, Federico and Kanavos, Panos ORCID: 0000-0001-9518-3089 (2015) Clinical, ethical, and socioeconomic considerations for prescription drug use during pregnancy in women suffering from chronic diseases. Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science, 49 (6). pp. 947-956. ISSN 2168-4790

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Abstract

The increasing proportion of women conceiving later in life, associated with the higher probability of contracting a chronic disease, highlights an increasing need to understand the impact of drug use for chronic diseases pre- and postpartum. In this study, the authors report the results of systematic reviews of drug use during pregnancy by focusing on pregnant women with a chronic disease, specifically, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or schizophrenia. The authors studied the clinical impact of drug use in these chronic diseases on the mother and fetus, as well as the ethical issues and socioeconomic impact of drug use during pregnancy for women with these conditions. The results indicate that treatment discontinuation in epilepsy and schizophrenia can lead to serious adverse effects, whereas pregnancy can have an ameliorating effect on RA symptoms. Delivery and neonatal complications were associated with the use of older generation drugs across the 3 diseases. Newer generation drugs were deemed safer but more expensive. Ethical considerations for physicians and patients involved mainly the potential risks of drug use for the fetus. In conclusion, treatment guidelines need to be developed in the future; additionally, better insight into the economics of pregnancy for women with chronic diseases will improve value for money in obstetric care.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://dij.sagepub.com/
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors
Divisions:	European Institute Social Policy LSE Health
Subjects:	R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Date Deposited:	01 Jul 2015 13:55
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 05:26
Funders:	UCB
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/62600

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