title: A register study of maternal epilepsy and delivery outcome with special reference to drug use.
abstract: A study has been made on epilepsy and delivery using the Swedish Medical Birth Register, 1973-1981. A total of 635 women with 712 infants were identified with the diagnosis of epilepsy in the register--they represented 1/3 to 1/4 of the expected number. An analysis of the delivery outcome did not indicate a registration bias favouring poor delivery outcome. Hospital records were retrieved for 644 patients (again there is no indication for a selection bias favouring poor delivery outcome) and disease and drugs used were studied. Fifty-one women did not have epilepsy in early pregnancy but had their first attack during pregnancy, at delivery or in the puerperium. A total of 93 women with epilepsy had not used anticonvulsants in early pregnancy, 266 used drugs in monotherapy (10 different types of drug), 213 had 2 drugs, 65 had 3, 8 had 4, and 2 had 5 drugs. Differences in age, gravity, parity, marital status and smoking habits between the subgroups were studied. There was some statistically non-significant increase in perinatal death rate and malformation rate after polytherapy compared to monotherapy, but this may, at least partly, be a selection bias and not a drug effect.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012042:Registries; D012907:Smoking; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants