Maternal Use of Antibiotics and the Risk of Congenital Malformations

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Different categories of antibiotics: Use of different categories of antibiotics during pregnancy, such as quinolones and macrolides.

Study summary

Antibiotics are widely used during pregnancy to prevent or treat infections, yet concerns remain regarding their fetal safety. Drawing on data from spontaneous reporting databases and cohort studies, this study aims to explore potential associations between exposure to various antibiotic classes during pregnancy and congenital malformations.

Data were collected from publicly available reports in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), the Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction (CVAR) database, and a population-based retrospective cohort in Xiamen, China. By applying multiple signal detection methods, we identified potential risk signals linking different antibiotic classes to organ-system-specific congenital malformations. For antibiotics showing positive signals, we further utilized a pregnancy medication cohort in Xiamen and applied causal inference techniques to estimate the adjusted relative risk of congenital malformations associated with first-trimester exposure to these antibiotics. Several sensitivity analyses-including both negative- and positive-control analyses-will also be performed.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Congenital malformations — From pregnancy to 42 days after delivery
  This study categorizes congenital malformation adverse events into 10 organ system specific congenital malformation (Q00-Q89) based on ICQ-10. Additionally, the cohort detected 22 congenital malformations mandated for surveillance in China and generated a composite outcome of total congenital malformation, that was a combination of all the above congenital anomalies.

Trial sites (1)

More West China Hospital trials in China