title: Placental transfer of phenobarbital: what is new?
abstract: The placental transfer of phenobarbital was investigated in 35 mother-infant pairs at birth. The drug was administered prenatally to the mothers for maternal epilepsy (group 1, n = 5), gestational hypertension and preeclampsia (group 2, n = 20) and prophylaxis of intraventricular hemorrhage in premature deliveries (group 3, n = 10). The phenobarbital levels in arterial cord blood were 100 +/- 2.8% in group 1, 89 +/- 21% in group 2 and 77 +/- 16% in group 3 with respect to the levels observed in the mothers. The most important factor influencing the transplacental passage was the duration of maternal treatment in the infant of group 1 (r = 0.80, p < 0.01), the gestational age in the infants of group 2 (r = 0.74, p < 0.01) and the arterial cord pH in the infants of group 3 (r = 0.89, p < 0.001).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Catholic University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: De Carolis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frezza
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Urzo
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Muzii
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mezza
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrazzani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Carolis
mesh_terms: D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D010634:Phenobarbital