A study published online October 14, 2005 in Birth Defects Research (Part A): Clinical and Molecular Teratology (www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/bdr) surveyed pregnant women who contacted a birth defect information service seeking information on the effects of isotretinoin. The purpose of the survey was to determine how the drug was dispensed in women who subsequently became pregnant and to identify possible reasons for failure in preventing conception.
Led by Julia Robertson of the Birth Defects and Genetics Program at the Utah Department of Health in Salt Lake City, researchers surveyed 34 women who had called a member service of the Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS) between April 2002 and September 2004 because they had become pregnant while taking isotretinoin. "The results of the OTIS survey show that the majority of women who participated were treated for less severe disease than is recommended in the SMART program," the researchers state. A total of 24 percent of the women reported receiving contraception counseling while taking the drug. In addition, the results showed that healthcare professionals and their patients failed to comply with a number of key SMART and/or PPP requirements. According to these requirements, women must have two negative pregnancy tests before receiving a prescription, yet 76 percent o
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Contact: David Greenberg
dgreenbe@wiley.com
201-748-6484
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
14-Oct-2005