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% CI, 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.