Severe Brief Resolved Unexplained Event in a Newborn Infant in Association with Maternal Sertralin Treatment during Pregnancy

Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a very common choice of antidepressive drug-therapy during pregnancy. In up to 30% of cases, they have been found to cause neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborn infants. Although often both time-limiting and self-limiting, severe symptoms of...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mirjam Pocivalnik, Manfred Danda, Berndt Urlesberger, Wolfgang Raith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
Series:Medicines
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2305-6320/5/4/113
Description
Summary:Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a very common choice of antidepressive drug-therapy during pregnancy. In up to 30% of cases, they have been found to cause neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborn infants. Although often both time-limiting and self-limiting, severe symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) can occur. Methods/Results: We report a term male infant suffering from a severe brief resolved unexplained event caused by his mother’s sertraline intake during pregnancy. Conclusions: Newborn infants exposed to selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy should be evaluated very carefully concerning NAS and monitored for NAS symptoms for a minimum of 72–96 h, or until symptoms have fully recovered using standardized protocols. There is a risk of severe NAS symptoms which might occur, and this circumstance should be discussed with the parents and taken into account before administering the drug.
ISSN:2305-6320