Adverse Pregnancy Outcome in Epileptic Women with Antiepileptic Drugs Treatment during Pregnancy

Objective: The aims of this study was to examine whether epileptic women with antiepileptic drugs(AEDs) treatment during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of adversed pregnancy outcome. Methods: The study design was a retrospective analysis of 91 epileptic pregnant women attending the Severance Hospital Yonsei Medical Center between January 1980 and June 1998. Of the 91 women, data from 84 were available for analysis. Adverse pregnancy outcome in 66 women who were exposed to AEDs during pregnancy were compared with those of 18 controls who were not. The main adverse pregnancy outcome included spontaneous abortions, perinatal deaths, preterm deliveries, fetal growth restriction and congenital anomalies. Results: Epileptic women with AEDs treatment during pregnancy were not significantly different from their controls in the incidence of spontaneous abortions(1.5% vs, 5.5%), perinatal deaths(1.5% vs. 0%), preterm deliveries(3% vs. 5.5%), fetal growth restriction(3% vs. 0%), and congenital anomalies(3% vs 5.5%). An adverse outcome occurred in 8 of 66 women(l2%) in the study group and 3 of 18 control group(16.5%). This difference was not statisitically significant. Conclusion: Our study shows that epileptic women who were exposed to AEDs during pregnancy do not have an increased risk of adversed pregnancy outcome than the women who were not.restrictio