Evaluation of antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy in a Jordanian army hospital

Abstract

We aimed to determine a treatment protocol for pregnant women with epilepsy. We selected 50 pregnant women from the antenatal clinic, King Hussein Medical Centre, who had been treated for epilepsy prior to pregnancy. They were divided into 3 groups. Group A (n = 16) received monotherapy with carbamazepine, group B (n = 16) received combined therapy with carbamazepine and phenytoin, and group C (n = 18) received no drugs because they refused treatment for fear of harming the fetus. Only 1 woman on monotherapy had seizures. In group B, no one had seizures, but 2 pregnancies were terminated because of neural tube defects. In group C, 5 patients had 1-2 seizures. No babies delivered to women in group C had congenital anomalies but 25% of babies born to mothers in groups A and B had minor congenital anomalies, a statistically significant difference.