Image by Thomas van Ardenne via Flickr CC2.0
The potent acne medication Accutane, also known as isotretinoin, is being used by pregnant women despite the risks the drug poses to a developing fetus as well as increasing the likelihood of miscarriage. The authors of a new study believe this shows Canada’s program that aims to prevent pregnancy in women using Accutane is not effective. The program recommends two negative pregnancy tests before beginning treatment, as well as the use of two reliable methods of birth control during treatment.
The study found 30 to 50 per cent of women taking Accutane do not comply with these requirements.The researchers examined anonymized patient records for nearly 60,000 women between 12 and 48 years old in four provinces – British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario – between 1996 and 2011.
Authors:
David Henry, MB ChB, Colin Dormuth, ScD, Brandace Winquist, PhD, Greg Carney , BSc, Shawn Bugden, MSc, PharmD, Gary Teare, PhD, Linda E. Lévesque, BSc(Pharm) PhD, Anick Bérard, PhD, J. Michael Paterson, MSc, Robert W. Platt, PhD
Corresponding author:
David Henry, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Original paper, published on April 25, 2016 in CMAJ.
