Prescribing patterns of anti-emetic drugs during pregnancy in Germany.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the prescribing patterns of anti-emetics for pregnant women in Germany.


METHODS
A large, nation-wide German statutory sickness fund provided data of reimbursed prescriptions and personal data for all insured women giving birth between June 2000 and May 2001 (n = 41,293). The prescribed drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical code.


RESULTS
About 13.9% (n = 5,746) of all pregnant women received an anti-emetic prescription. Over 98.5% of these women were treated with anti-emetics that are considered safe. But only 27.8% received the recommended anti-histamine meclozine and 2.1% the safest drug pyridoxine.


CONCLUSIONS
As there are no official guidelines for the treatment of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy in Germany, many different drugs are used, sometimes ignoring effectiveness and even safety. Therefore, evidence-based guidelines for anti-emetic therapy are needed.
Markl
Gertraud E
GE
Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE), University of Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, Munich 81377, Germany. markl@ibe.med.uni-muenchen.de
Strunz-Lehner
Chirstine
C
Egen-Lappe
Veronika
V
Hasford
Joerg
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy
D000932:Antiemetics