Teratogenic potential of vaginal metronidazole treatment during pregnancy
Kazy, Z.án.; Puhó, E.éb.; Czeizel, A.E.
European Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 123(2): 174-178
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0301-2115 PMID: 16316810 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2005.03.016Document Number: 259050
To study the human teratogenic potential of vaginal metronidazole treatment during pregnancy. The analysis of cases with different congenital abnormalities and their matched controls in the population-based data set of the large Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities (HCCSCA), 1980-1996. Pregnant women (38,151) who had newborn infants without any congenital abnormalities (control group), 22,843 pregnant women who had newborn infants or fetuses with congenital abnormalities. Twenty-two congenital abnormality groups. The prevalence of vaginal metronidazole treatment during pregnancy was 1.7% in the case group (388 pregnant women), while it was 1.5% in the control group (570 pregnant women) [crude prevalence odds ratio (POR) with 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 1.0-1.3]. Comparisons of cases and their matched controls showed an association between vaginal metronidazole treatment during the second and third months of gestation and congenital hydrocephalus (adjusted POR with 95% CI: 10.7, 1.1-104.5), however, based only on five cases. The evaluation of medically recorded metronidazole treatment did not confirm this association. Our finding can only be regarded as a signal for the possible association between vaginal treatment with metronidazole during pregnancy and congenital hydrocephalus.
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