Birth Defect News

Increased Cause Of Birth Defect Realated To First Trimester Use Of ACE Inhibitors

Infants born to mothers who took angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy had an increased risk of major congenital malformations compared with infants whose mothers didn't take these drugs, according to a new study jointly funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This study, which is published in the June 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first to find an adverse impact of ACE inhibitors on a fetus when taken only during the first trimester of pregnancy.

ACE inhibitors, a class of medications primarily used to lower blood pressure and/or to preserve kidney function in people with diabetes, already carry an FDA "black box" warning stating that they can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus when used during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The warning states that use of ACE inhibitors should be discontinued as soon as possible when pregnancy is detected. According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, in 1995 there were 1,426,220 prescriptions for ACE inhibitors written in physicians' offices for women ages 15 to 44. That number increased to 2,712,510 in 2002 for the same age group.

"These study findings raise a new and potentially important safety concern for a woman who is taking ACE inhibitors before she or her doctor knows that she is pregnant," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "Clinicians who treat women of childbearing age and pregnant women should be aware of these new findings and consider whether to use other treatment options to control hypertension or kidney damage from diabetes."

The study was conducted by researchers at the AHRQ-sponsored Vanderbilt University Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) in Nashville. The mission of the CERTs is to conduct research and provide education that will advance the best use of therapeutics (drugs, medical devices, and biological products). The program is administered as a cooperative agreement by AHRQ, in consultation with the FDA.

Researchers, led by William O. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, examined data gathered from the Tennessee Medicaid program on 29,507 infants born between 1985 and 2000. Of the total study population, 209 infants were identified by researchers as having been exposed to ACE inhibitors during the first trimester, 202 had comparable exposure to other antihypertensive medications, and 29,096 had no maternal use of antihypertensive drugs.

The researchers found that major congenital malformations identified by vital records and hospital claims were diagnosed in 856, or 2.9 percent of infants, and that 203 infants had more than one malformation. Among infants exposed to ACE inhibitors in the first trimester, the proportion born with major congenital malformations was 7.1 percent, compared with 1.7 percent among infants exposed to other antihypertensive medications. The rate of major congenital malformations in the general population is about 3 percent—or 3 infants out of every 100 pregnancies. Read more at: www.ahrq.gov

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	Did You Know?
	There Are Different Causes For Birth Defects We do not know what causes most birth defects. Sometimes they just happen and are not caused by anything that the parents did or didn't do. Some of the more common causes of birth defects include, alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs certain vaccines and smoking. If you have a child with a birth defect, it might be helpful to talk with other parents who have had a child with the same condition.