Highlights                             by W. Wertelecki, MD                     December 1999

About I.B.I.S. Home Search Topics Search all contents Standards "In the News" Messages... Questions/comments Report Dead Links Disclaimer  S.O.S. - Exchange Join I.B.I.S. Pandora's Word Box MedWord Birth Defects Gallery - Music Books - Old Maps - Etchings

In 1991, the U.S. Senate requested a definitive study to determine the effects of illicit drugs on pregnancy. The challenge was taken up by a team from Pennsylvania headed by R. B. Ness. A case-control epidemiologic investigation to assess the impact of drug use during pregnancy shows that tobacco smoking and use of cocaine are associated with a significant risk of spontaneous abortion (N. Eng. J. Med. 340: 337, 1999). Most women studied resided in the inner-city areas of Philadelphia. As noted by J. E. Mills in a companion Editorial (on page 380) "the evidence linking cocaine use with spontaneous abortion is weak and inconsistent ... the role of cocaine, if any, in causing spontaneous abortion is modest". We note that the critical point is not the drug effects "on pregnancy" but on the unborn and on child development.

Among those who had spontaneous abortions, 29% had used cocaine on the basis of hair analysis compared with 21% who did not (odds ratio 1.6). Cotidine was detected in the urine of 35% of pregnant adolescents and women who had spontaneous abortions and in 22% of those who did not.

News
Abortion

	This site offers information mostly for educational purposes. This site is not intended to alter health care protocols nor to serve  as a sole source of  medical information.  Please read full disclaimer. Always seek the advice of your local health care provider.
	Copyright 1998 - 2002 I.B.I.S. All rights reserved. Sponsor: I.B.I.S. | Site Concept: W. W., D. C. | Page Content: W. Wertelecki, M. D. Email: Webmaster

      
21/January/2002 dc