Understanding and Responding to Prescribing Patterns of Sodium Valproate-Containing Medicines in Pregnant Women and Women of Childbearing Age in Western Cape, South Africa

Ushma Mehta (), Mariette Smith, Emma Kalk, Helen Hayes, Annoesjka Swart, Lawrence Tucker, Renier Coetzee, Andrew Boulle and Marc Blockman
Additional contact information
Ushma Mehta: University of Cape Town
Mariette Smith: University of Cape Town
Emma Kalk: University of Cape Town
Helen Hayes: Provincial Government of the Western Cape
Annoesjka Swart: University of Cape Town
Lawrence Tucker: University of Cape Town
Renier Coetzee: University of the Western Cape
Andrew Boulle: University of Cape Town
Marc Blockman: University of Cape Town

Drug Safety, 2021, vol. 44, issue 1, No 5, 51 pages

Abstract: Abstract Introduction Growing evidence of the teratogenic potential of sodium valproate (VPA) has changed prescribing practices across the globe; however, the impact of this research and the consequent dissemination of a Dear Health Care Professional Letter (DHCPL) in December 2015, recommending avoidance of the teratogen VPA in women of childbearing age (WOCBA) and pregnant women in South Africa, is unknown. We explored trends and reasons for VPA use among pregnant women and WOCBA in the public sector in Western Cape Province from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017. Methods Using the provincial health information exchange that collates routine electronic health data via unique patient identifiers, we analysed clinical and pharmacy records from 2015 to 2017 to determine prescription patterns of VPA and other antiepileptic drug (AED) and mood-stabilising medicine (MSM) use in WOCBA and pregnant women. Senior clinicians and policy makers were consulted to understand the determinants of VPA use. Results At least one VPA prescription was dispensed to between 8205 (0.79%) and 9425 (0.94%) WOBCA from a cohort of approximately 1 million WOCBA attending provincial health care facilities per year. Prescriptions were more likely in HIV-infected women compared with HIV-uninfected women (1.1–1.3% vs. 0.7–0.9%; p

Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40264-020-00987-4 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:drugsa:v:44:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s40264-020-00987-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/adis/journal/40264

DOI: 10.1007/s40264-020-00987-4

Access Statistics for this article

Drug Safety is currently edited by Nitin Joshi

More articles in Drug Safety from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().