MATERNAL NSAID USE LINKED WITH LUNG DISORDER

A study published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics reveals yet another hazard of over-the-counter painkillers.. According to the report, expectant mothers who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have a heightened risk of delivering a baby with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), a serious disorder characterized by restricted blood flow to the lungs.

The study enrolled 40 newborns with PPHN and 61 healthy babies. Researchers asked the babies' mothers if they had taken painkillers and tested the infants' meconium (their initial stool) for residue of ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin and aspirin.

A poor correlation was found between mothers' reports of painkiller use and evidence of these drugs in their babies' meconium, indicating that expectant mothers often fail to disclose their use of painkillers.

Babies who had been exposed to NSAIDs in the womb were 21..5 times more likely to suffer from PPHN than were the offspring of women who avoided these drugs.

Pediatrics ­ March 2001;107:519-23. http://www.pediatrics.org/

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