title: Pregnancy outcome after paternal exposure to azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine.
abstract: There are only few studies with conflicting results on pregnancy outcome after paternal exposure to azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine. In our study, pregnancy outcome of 115 prospectively followed pregnancies after paternal exposure to azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine is compared to a control group of 341 pregnancies. The rate of major malformations was not increased (3.0% in exposed versus 2.2% in the control group). There was no specific pattern of birth defects and no indication for chromosomal aberrations in the exposed group. We observed a higher rate of elective terminations of pregnancy in the exposed group and a non-significant increase of spontaneous abortions (cumulative incidence 19% versus 13%, respectively). Further prospective studies are required to address the question of a possibly increased risk for spontaneous abortion.
authors.affiliation: Pharmakovigilanzzentrum Embryonaltoxikologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Maria.Hoeltzenbein@charite.de
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoeltzenbein
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weber-Schoendorfer
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borisch
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allignol
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meister
authors.forename: Christof
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schaefer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D015122:Mercaptopurine; D001379:Azathioprine