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Review

Sumatriptan

No authors listed
In: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®) [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 2006.
.
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Review

Sumatriptan

No authors listed.
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Excerpt

Because of the low levels of sumatriptan in breastmilk, amounts ingested by the infant are small. It also has poor oral bioavailability, further decreasing infant exposure to the drug. Some authors have suggested that withholding breastfeeding for 8 hours after a single subcutaneous injection would virtually eliminate infant exposure to the drug.[1] The manufacturer recommends withholding breastfeeding for 12 hours after a dose. Withholding breastfeeding might be helpful in extreme cases, such as in the mother of a preterm infant, but sumatriptan would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in most breastfed infants. Painful, burning nipples and breast pain have been reported after doses of sumatriptan and other triptans. This has occasionally been accompanied by a decrease in milk production.

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References

    1. Wojnar-Horton RE, Hackett LP, Yapp P, et al. Distribution and excretion of sumatriptan in human milk. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1996;41:217-21. - PubMed
    1. Amundsen S, Nordeng H, Fuskevåg OM, et al. Transfer of triptans into human breast milk and estimation of infant drug exposure through breastfeeding. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2021;128:795-804. - PubMed
    1. Kristensen J. Sumatriptan and breastfeeding. Aust J Hosp Pharm 1996;26:460.
    1. Conijn M, Maas V, van Tuyl M, et al. Breastfeeding-related adverse drug reactions of triptans: A descriptive analysis using four pharmacovigilance databases. Breastfeed Med 2024;19:645-51. - PubMed

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