Use of oral decongestants during pregnancy and delivery outcome

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate delivery outcome after maternal use of oral decongestants. Study design: We identified 2474 women who had reported the use of oral decongestants (mainly phenylpropanolamine) during early pregnancy and 1771 women who used prescription oral decongestants later in pregnancy. With Mantel-Haenszel analysis, comparisons were made with all women who gave birth in Sweden. Results: The risk ratio for any congenital malformation after the use of oral decongestants. was 0.96 (95% Cl, 0.80-1.16). Women who were prescribed decongestants after the first antenatal visit less often than expected had infants who were born preterm, (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52-0.88), of low birth weight (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.37-0.77), small-for-date (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.47-1.08), or perinatally dead (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.22-12.5). Conclusion: No teratogenic effect of oral decongestants was found. An association found between the late pregnancy use of such drugs and a favorable neonatal outcome can be explained hypothetically by the postulated association between pregnancy rhinitis and placental hormones. (c) 2006 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.