Reactions 791 - 4 Mar 2000

STheophylline

Fetal death following inadvertent in utero exposure:case report

A 27-year-old woman experienced a miscarriage as a resultof fetal death during the first trimester of pregnancy after shehad inadvertently received theophylline.

The patient had presented initially at 6–8 weeks of gestation.At that time, she was prescribed multivitamins once daily;however, the pharmacy had filled the prescription withtheophylline 300mg in error. After the woman had takentheophylline for 4 weeks, she was informed of this error andstopped the agent. Three days later, ultrasound examinationshowed a 6-week gestational sac with no evidence of fetaltissue. Her theophylline concentration was below the limit ofdetection for the assay.

Two days later, the woman presented with a partialspontaneous abortion and underwent suction curettage.Pathological examination showed a gestational sac, but noevidence of fetal or embryonic tissue.

Author comment: ‘Although a general presumption hasbeen that theophyllline can be given safely during pregnancy,an accumulating review of information indicates that this is nottrue, especially in the first trimester . . . The scientific literatureclearly indicates that theophylline can disrupt the developmentof critical cardiac structures during the early stage ofpregnancy.’Loveless H. Theophylline-induced fetal demise in the first trimester of pregnancyin a 27-year-old female: case report and review of the literature. CurrentTherapeutic Research - Clinical and Experimental 60: 529-533, Oct 1999 -USA 800812783

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Reactions 4 Mar 2000 No. 7910114-9954/10/0791-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved